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Define Internet Technology – It Is All About .Coms

by Jerry1973 on March 19, 2010

The word Internet is such a part of our daily vocabulary that few of us even stop to think about what it means or how it got here. It is probably a safe bet to say that the average 18 year old, if asked to define internet technology, would say that it is all about Twitter, Facebook and text messaging. The commercial or .com side of the Internet would rarely be mentioned because to this generation shopping online and downloading music and movies is just a way of life.

It seems hard to believe but the very first .com domain name was registered a scant 25 years ago. A Washington D.C. group called The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) just came out with a status report on the .com phenomena. ITIF in their report states that the launch of the business or commercial part of the World Wide Web is a milestone in world technology history.

Dictionary type definitions of technology state that it is the use of tools, materials, and processes to take human life more efficient and productive. The difference between pure science and technology is that science pursues why and how things happen while technology centers on making things happen. When man discovered how to create fire himself rather than simply observe it happening in nature, this is when technology began.

The .com evolution is considered to be a true technology milestone because it caused nearly every retail business to revamp the very basics of obtaining and selling products to the public. No longer could business models remain the same in the retail world and an Internet presence became necessary for economic viability and profits. Statistically, about 80 million of the 250 million websites are .coms.

The ITIF report provides an estimate that the commercial side of the Internet is responsible for $1.5 trillion in worldwide economic benefits. They further predict that if .com growth rates continue as they have, Internet business will add close to $4 trillion annually to the worldwide economy. To define Internet technology without a footnote regarding the phenomenal impact of the business side is not a definition at all. In fact, there would be no Internet were it not for the revenue produced by .coms and their affiliations.