Author Archives: Alex Marshall

How the Internet Created Its Own Currency

This is an article about Bitcoin written by Christina Warren, a Senior Tech Analyst at Mashable.  So, you might be asking yourself what in the world is bitcoin? The author explains that bitcoin is a form of digital currency or crypty-currency. It is completely decentralized, and independent of any banking authority. It is regulated by software. It is incredibly secure and users are anonymous. Without banks, bitcoin currency runs on a decentralized network. It has no borders, no country and no government.  There is no center for hackers to attack. Bit coins can be used anywhere in the world on the internet. Another advantage is that there is no way to create a counterfeit bitcoin. Even though every user in this network is anonymous, every bitcoin creates a digital footprint of where it has been.  It relies on a technology called cryptography for its security. In the article, Christina Warren describes how bitcoins are generated. Unlike paper currency, bitcoins are created through a process called mining. I found this video to explain this process. It is called The Internet Knows Bitcoin. The process is a lot like gold mining.

People are able to buy and sell bitcoin through bitcoin exchanges. The bitcoins then are stored in an ewallet through which you can purchase virtually anything. Every transaction is verified and recorded in a ledger. Additionally, the software is completely open source, and the code is open to the public for anyone to review.

Many businesses are starting to accept bitcoin as a form of currency, meaning that the people are gaining trust in technology and where its going. One thing for sure is that, people are losing trust in the value of the dollar. The question now is, can bitcoin become the future currency? We’ll see.

There is also a free internet course that is designed to make you into bitcoin expert. It discusses everything about the topic. Here is the link.

Link to the Article – Bitcoin: How the Internet Created its own Currency

Digital Dating and Virtual Relating: Conceptualizing Computer Mediated Romantic Relationships

This article shines light one how the internet has impacted our interpersonal relationships within the context of a romantic relationship. It talks about something called CMR (Computer Mediated Relationships). The article starts off by exploring the history and the culture of the internet. The internet has become so a part of our culture that people spend more time on the computer than the do with people. Today its not just a way of sending email, its a place that has had dramatic effects on social interactions. It gives us the power to meet new people, talk in chat rooms, social networks, date online, create online communities, find true love online, and sustain relationships through skype. People can even fulfill their secret sexual desires online. The author compares computer mediated relationships and face to face relationships by discussing four different parts: the process of relationship formation and dissolution, the nature of self disclosure, methods of conflict management, and meaning of infidelity.

Digital Dating and Virtual Relating

Political, Economic, Social, and Technical (PEST) Impacts of the Internet

This is a video of Dr. Vint Cerf giving a talk at Purdue University. Dr. Vint Cerf is one of the pioneers of the internet and is recognized as one of the fathers of the internet. Dr. Vint Cerf talks about how the internet has changed over the years. For instance, the world today is experiencing deep internet penetration, massive use and diversity. Although many parts of the world still don’t have the internet. The recent changes that have been made among many others are the IPv6, internationalized domain names, digital signed address registration (RPKI), domain name system security (DNSSEC), sensor networks, smart grid and mobile devices.  He spoke about the internet of things, and brought up many internet enabled devices that are out on the market today. For instance, a internet enabled refrigerator, light bulbs, surfboards, picture frames, bathroom scale, He presented and elaborated on a lot of issues that go along with the internet of things. For example privacy, configuration, management, infrastructure, architecture, the sensor network, and etc. On the political side of the discussion, Dr Cerf spoke on the impact of the internet on the populations of many countries. Topics such as cyber crime, cyber security, policy making, digital signatures, and digital velum were all discussed. Digital velum for instance was interesting to me because it talked about the preservation of digital data. It posed the question whether we would be able to open files from 1995 in the year 3000. The speaker also spoke on the impact the internet had on the economics of publishing, journalism, education and manufacturing. For instance, he compared the cost of paper to the cost of bits, and showed how the internet has rocked the world of publishing. He spoke on how the internet has changed journalism and education. Education is particularly interesting, because of this new MOOC structure. MOOC stands for massive online open courses. Explains how this model of free education is far more beneficial and even more profitable. With regards to manufacturing, the speaker spoke about 3D printing, which is another thing to keep an eye out for as it is predicted to be revolutionary and world changing in many ways. Finally, Dr. Vint Cerf spoke about a current project called InterPlanetary extension of the internet. This is a facinating topic that goes back to Licklider and his idea of intergalactic computer network. Here is the Link to the seminar.

Social Implication of the Internet

A lot of topics can be addressed when talking about what social implications the internet has had on the world. The article discusses in detail the digital divide, the impact on time use, community, social capital formation, politics, organizations, and culture. The digital divide is the gap between those that have access to the internet and those that do not. That has a lot to do with economic development of that particular society, and has very interesting correlations and implications. The author explains the social impact on time use. People now spend a lot of time online. It allows them to have instant access to any kind of information, be actively involved in online communities, and even their physical communities. The authors also go into detail the impact the internet has on social interactions. Research shows that internet users spend less time in the real world and more time in the virtual. Results show increase in loneliness, depression, hindered face to face communication, less time with families, and social circles. The internet also has heavily impacted the world of politics. People are more informed, more engaged and more empowered through the internet. Additionally, the article talks about how the internet has caused huge changes in operations of organizations. If organizations are not taking advantage of the internet, they are pretty much shooting themselves in the foot. All in all, the article is packed with interesting, thought provoking content. The internet is a part of our culture today, and its interesting that it has affected the way we live, work, communicate, and how we do business. It allows us to take control of our lives, build communities, start movements, educate ourselves, be a part of social organization, increase communication, and countless others. It has done a lot of good, and one can argue that it also has done some damage as well. Although I’d argue that the benefits outweigh the drawbacks.

Social Impact of the Internet

The Evolution of the Net

This article talks about the evolution of the internet. The author talks about where the internet originated. The initial intent of ARPA was to create computer networks to facilitate defense operations. In this article I learned about packet switching, how it works, and what are the benefits of it. The article is split into three sections: going global, correct protocol, and grasping the net. Going global section explained the evolution of the Internet Protocol and the emergence of many networks. As the ARPAnet grew, different types of networks such as UNIX Users Group Network (USENET) , Computer and Science Network (CSNET), BITNET emerged. Additionally, European Academic Research Network (EARN) and Joint Academic Network sprung up in Europe. The Correct Protocol section of the article focused on the TCP/IP. Through gateways, the interconnection of networks was created. This network of networks, or ‘internetworking’ rather, was where the term internet comes from. In the Grasping the Net section looks at how big the internet has grown to be, astounding numbers of users, and networks world wide. Information is now at the tips of everyone’s fingers. You don’t need to be a tech wizard to be incredibly powerful with the internet. The internet does that for us. The article ends with a list of key terms important to understand the topic of discussion

Evolution of the Net

The Internet of Things Will Thrive by 2025

If you have never heard of the Internet of Things or the Smarter Planet idea, then this will be a very interesting topic with regards to the future of the internet. The article I found talks about the internet of things and the impact of it on our lives in the age 2025.  Big data is the next stage in the evolution of the internet and it will revolutionize our world. The article paints a picture of a world where everything is connecting to the internet. We will be able to get smart data from every object we come in contact with. Internet of things is a system of systems, where every object, every environment talks and interacts with each other. Big data will give people insights to solve the worlds biggest problems, allow business to save money, allow everyone to live more efficiently. Internet of things will enable a greater efficiency of how we do everything. Today there is so much data that is not being utilized. Banking, communicating, government and public safety, healthcare, transportation, energy, education,  and many other industries will all benefit greatly from smart data. Not only that but all of that data will be able to communicate with each other. The internet of things may have been a crazy thought back in the day, but today its well within our reach. Smarter houses, smarter cities, smarter communities, smarter countries, smarter planet, are all possibilities of the near future. Although there are endless possibilities with the internet of things, big data also has some risks. Many people may argue that big data and constant monitoring takes away our privacy and poses a real threat on our freedom. Also the article talks about the topic of digital divide, cloud computing, wearable devices. In this article tech professionals, and academic scholars respond to these issues and topics regarding the internet of things.

“The internet of things will thrive by 2025″

Here is a supplementary video of the internet of things by IBM

Internet History: From ARPANET to Broadband

This article was written by the Federal Communications Commission and posted in the Congressional Digest on February 2007. Knowing how massive and evolved the internet is today, you can only imagine the chaos of its beginnings. This article takes you through a brief history of how the internet got started. In the late 1950′s, fearful of a nuclear attack, the American government started the Advanced Research Projects Agency. Licklider was one of the few whose vision for the internet had massive potential for the future. It was to create an intergalactic network of computers, which now were seen as an extension of human capacity. The article takes the reader through many topics and milestones such as packet switching, time sharing, creating the first four-computer network, implementation of host to host protocol (Network Control Program), TCP/IP,  DNS, VoIP, IP addresses, establishment of Internet Engineering Task Force, the Internet Society and the World Wide Web. The article does a good job of flying through the content and outlining major historical points.