The ‘Internet’ is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet Protocol Suite (TCP/IP) to serve billions of users worldwide. It is a chain of networks that consists of millions of private, public, academic, business, and government networks of local to global scope that are linked by a broad array of networking
technologies. The ‘Internet’ carries a vast range of information resources and services, such as the inter-linked hypertext documents of the World Wide Web (WWW) and the infrastructure to support electronic mail. Some of the popular applications of Internet are:
- Search Engine: It can be used to search anything and everything on the web. Most popular search engines are Google and Yahoo.
- Research: Research papers are present online which assists the researcher about literature review.
- Education: Now right from kindergarten to Phd. degree an enormous amount of educational material is available on the web. Online education has become the latest trend in today’s education system.
- Communication: Internet helps people to communicate either with the use of social networking websites or through e-Mails. Computer users around the world extensively use email service on internet to communicate with each other.
- Job Search: Now-a-days many people search jobs through online mode as it is quicker to approach and there is a large variety of job vacancies presented before them. People can publish their resume online for prospective jobs. Some of the websites that provides such services are naukri.com, monster.com, summerjob.com, recuritmentindia.com, etc.
- Shopping: Shopping has become easier with the advent of Internet. It has also facilitated an introduction of a new market concept consisting of virtual shops. Using the internet services customers can submit specific product queries and request specific sales quotes.
For example: amazon.com is a WWW based bookshop on the internet where information
on all types of international books can be found and books can be ordered online. - Travel: One can use internet to gather information about various tourist places. It can be used for booking Holiday tours, hotels, train, bus, flights and cabs. Some of the web sites providing this service are goibibo.com, makemytrip.com, olacabs.com.
- Video Conferencing: It enables live face-to-face communication across networks via web cameras, microphones, and other communication tools. Video conferencing can enable individuals at distant locations to participate in meetings on short notice, saving time and money. When Video Conferencing is used in education, it is easier to have interactive communication between teacher to teacher, teacher to classroom, or classroom to classroom with students at different places.
- E-Commerce: e-Commerce (Electronic Commerce) is the buying and selling of goods and services, or transmitting funds or data over an electronic network, primarily the Internet. These business transactions occur either in business-to-business, business-to-consumer, consumer-to-consumer or consumer-to-business areas. Popular e-Commerce companies in India are Flipkart, Snapdeal, Amazon India, Paytm.
- Social Networking: Social Networking is the use of internet-based social connections with friends, family, classmates, customers and clients. Social Networking can be done for social purposes, business purposes or both. Social media helps to find individuals and facilitate the acquisition of new contacts. Examples of social networking are Facebook, LinkedIn, WhatsApp, etc.
