ADVANTAGES OF INTERNET

1. ADVANTAGES OF INTERNET 1) Information on almost every subject imaginable.2) Powerful search engines3) Ability to do research from your home versus research libraries.4) Information at various levels of study. Everything from scholarly articles to ones directed at children.5) Message boards where people can discuss ideas on any topic. Ability to get wide range of opinions. People can find others that have a similar interest in whatever they are interested in. 6) The internet provides the ability of emails. Free mail service to anyone in the country.7) Platform for products like SKYPE, which allow for holding a video conference with anyone in the world who also has access.8) Friendships and love connections have been made over the internet by people involved in love/passion over similar interests.9) Things such as Yahoo Answers and other sites where kids can have readily available help for homework. 10) News, of all kinds is available almost instantaneously. Commentary, on that news, from every conceivable viewpoint is also available.

2. Global AudienceContent published on the World Wide Web is immediately available to a global audience of users. This makes the World Wide Web a very cost-effective medium to publish information. Reaching more than 190 countries. • Operates 24 hours, 7  days  a weekYou don't need to wait until resources are available to conduct business. From a consumer's perspective as well as a provider's business can be consummated at any time. The fact that the Internet is operational at all times makes it the most efficient business machine to date. • Relatively InexpensiveIt is relatively inexpensive to publish information on the Internet. At a fraction of the cost to publish information by traditional methods, various organizations and individuals can now distribute information to millions of users. It costs only a few thousand dollars to establish an Internet presence and publish content on the Internet.

3. Online SurveysTraditional methods of performing surveys are often relatively slow and expensive compared to online surveys conducted on the Internet. For example, in order to fill out various needs of customers or what they would like to see in a future product, it's often necessary to compile a list of  address and mail a questionnaire to many customers. The success of such an attempt is not always guaranteed and can be very costly in terms of mailing the questionnaires and entering responses to a databases and analyzing it. On the other hand, you can use the World Wide Web to automate the whole process. For example, you can set up a CGI script to conduct online surveys. Results of such a survey can be automatically updated to a database. This database can then be  used to keep a pulse on various opinions and needs of customers. • AnnouncementsWith the World Wide Web, you can distribute various announcements to millions of users in a timely manner. Because there is virtually no time lag from the time it takes to publish information to making the information available to users, the Web is an ideal medium to publicize announcements. As more people discover the virtues of the Web and get connected to the Internet, the Web will become the medium of choice for many organizations and individuals to publicize various announcements.

4. Provide Technical SupportYou can also use Web site to provide technical support to users. Because Web pages can be updated immediately with  new information, various technical support literature can be immediately modified in light of new findings and developments. This can be accomplished without having to distribute changes to all users affected by any changes using traditional mediums of information distribution, which are often quite costly compared to the World Wide Web. Create Online Discussion ForumsBy using applications such as WebBoard, it's possible to set up online discussion forums on the Web. Obtain Customer FeedbackThe interactive nature of the World Wide Web  is ideal for obtaining customer feedback. You can easily set up a CGI script to obtain customer feedback about a product or service. Because customer feedback submitted by customers can be read immediately, it's possible to respond to various customer concerns in a timely manner, increasing customer satisfaction and quality of customer service. Immediate Distribution of InformationWhen information is added to a Web site, it's immediately available for browsing by millions of Internet users. The World Wide Web is an ideal medium of information distribution because it takes away the time lag associated with publishing content and actually making it available to users

5. Easy Integration with Internal Information SystemsInternet information systems deployed on the Internet  can be easily integrated with internal information systems managed with office productivity applications such as Microsoft Office. • Powerful Content Publishing ToolsA new breed of Internet aware applications will start emerging in software stores by the time you read this. These applications will enable users to develop content for the World Wide Web by simply saving as an HTML file. In addition to software developers making existing applications Internet aware, various new, powerful, and easy-to use Internet content publishing applications are also being developed. These applications will make the task of publishing content on the Internet even easier. Most of these applications are developed for  Windows users. • MultimediaThe capability to incorporate multimedia into Web pages is a major advantage of using World Wide Web to publish information. For example, many Web sites use sounds and video clips to make the content easier and more interesting to browse. • Formatting CapabilitiesContent published on the World Wide Web can be richly formatted by using various HTML tags and graphic formats. The capability to do this is a major reason for the success of the World Wide Web. In addition to using HTML tags and various multimedia formats in Web pages, various interactive controls can also be added to a web page. This capability allows Web  site content developers to create "active" Web sites. For example, before a user sends some information to a Web server for processing, a VBScript or JavaScript subroutine can be used to verify  information typed in by the user. Various formatting capabilities,  along with technologies such as Java and VBScript, make the World Wide Web a richly interactive medium that you can use to distribute information to millions of users.

6. Faster CommunicationThe foremost target of Internet has always been speedy communication and it has excelled way beyond the expectations. New innovations are only going to make it faster and more reliable. Now, you can communicate in a fraction of second with a person who is sitting in the other part of the world. With the help of such services, it has become very easy to establish a kind of global friendship where you can share your thoughts and explore other cultures.Information ResourcesInformation is probably the biggest advantage that Internet offers. Internet is a virtual treasure trove of information. Any kind of information on any topic under the sun is available on the Internet. The search engines like Google, Yahoo are at your service on the Internet. There is a huge amount of information available on the Internet for just about every subject known to man, ranging from government law and services, market information, new ideas and technical support. Today, it is almost required that students should use it for research or the purpose of gathering resources. • Online ServicesThe Internet has made life very convenient. With numerous online services you can now perform all your transactions online. You can book tickets for a movie, transfer funds, pay utility bills, taxes etc., and right from your home

7. EntertainmentEntertainment is another popular reason why many people prefer to surf the Internet. In fact, the Internet has become quite successful in trapping the multifaceted entertainment industry. Downloading games or just surfing the celebrity websites are some of the uses people have discovered. Even celebrities are using the Internet effectively for promotional campaigns. • Social NetworkingOne cannot imagine an online life without Facebook or Twitter. Social networking has become so popular amongst youth that it might one day replace physical networking. It has evolved as a great medium to connect with millions of people with similar interests. Apart from finding long-lost friends, you can also look for a job, business opportunities.

8. DISADVANTAGES 1) There is a lot of wrong information on the internet. Anyone can post anything, and much of it is garbage.2) There are predators that hang out on the internet waiting to get unsuspecting people in dangerous situations.3) Some people are getting addicted to the internet and thus causing problems with their interactions of friends and loved ones.4) Pornography that can get in the hands of young children too easily.5) Easy to waste a lot of time on the internet. You can start surfing, and then realize far more time has passed than you realized. Internet and television together of added to the more sedentary lifestyles of people which further exacerbates the obesity problem.6) Internet has a lot of "cheater" sites. People can buy essays and pass them off as their own far more easily than they used to be able to do. 7) There are a lot of unscrupulous businesses that have sprung up on the internet to take advantage of people.8) Hackers can create viruses that can get into your personal computer and ruin valuable data.9) Hackers can use the internet for identity theft.10) It can be quite depressing to be on the internet and realize just how uneducated so many people have become in today's society.

9. Theft of Personal InformationIf you use the Internet for online banking, social networking or other services, you may risk a theft to your personal information such as name, address, credit card number etc. People can access this information through unsecured connections or by planting software and then use your personal details for their benefit. Needless to say, this may land you in serious trouble. Virus ThreatInternet users are often plagued by virus attacks on their systems. Virus programs are inconspicuous and may get activated if you click a seemingly harmless link. Computers connected to the Internet are very prone to targeted virus attacks and may end up crashing. PornographyPornography is perhaps the biggest disadvantage of the Internet. Internet allows you to access and download millions of pornographic photos, videos and other X-rated stuff. Such unrestricted access to porn can be detrimental for children and teenagers. .

10. Social DisconnectThanks to the Internet, people now only meet on social networks. More and more people are getting are drifting apart from their friends and family. Even children prefer to play online games rather than going out and mingling with other kids. • With all its falls the internet has the potential to make your life simple and convenient, as well as wreak havoc in your life. Its influence is mostly dictated by the choices you make while you are online. With clever use, you can manage to harness its unlimited potential SIDE BY SIDE COMPARISION Advantages The internet which was once just a little puddle, now, have become an ocean; an ocean of knowledge. It is like a magical crystal ball which has an answer for every question of yours and the best thing about it is; it is completely free. I know how much I have learnt from the internet. How internet is better than books when it comes to knowledge? The answer to this would be the infinity of the internet. Plus, apart from this, learning from internet is much more fun. You have all kinds of videos about basically every topic that you can imagine of. Disadvantages If availability of knowledge helps people to do good things, it is also, a help for evil. There are thousands of websites which tells you ways to make a bomb or how to commit suicide. People even learn how to hack websites from the internet.

11. Communication Advantages Another amazing thing about the internet is the communication that it makes possible. Most of the business firms communicate with each other with the help of e-mails. It is not only a faster way but also the safer way too. With internet you can video chat with a person who might be in some other continent as of yours. Disadvantages We are getting so use to of virtual communication that we are lacking a physical contact with our acquaintances. It is separating us from the real world around us, which I think smothers the development of personality of an individual. Smaller World Advantage Due to internet our world is becoming smaller and smaller. Computers which are connected to internet are connected to each other. This facilitates the transfer of a file or even a folder from one computer to another. Disadvantage Due to this connection your personal data canbestolen from your computer. Various kinds of virus, malware, and spyware enter your computer via internet.

12. Convenience Advantages With the help of the internet we can do almost everything at home. We can do everything from paying bills to buying airline tickets, from finding jobs to ordering stuff. It sure saves us lots of time in this busy and competitive world. Apart from this, it also saves us energy so that you can put that energy to more productive things. Disadvantages Like every technology, internet too reduces your effort but in return it takes a toll on your health. As you can get practically everything sitting at your home you don’t go around physically. So, your physical activity goes to nil. I believe any type of transaction that you do on internet is unsafe. Hackers can suck all of your life’s savings if you use internet banking services. Virtual Information Advantage With more people relying on internet for getting information the usage of books will also reduce. This will decrease deforestation and will prove eco-friendly. Disadvantage If people will choose internet over books this will increase the energy consumption.

13. Social networking sites Advantages Social networks have changed our lives. It is like a virtual world. I personally think if you have an account in a social networking website then you are never alone. There is always something happening. I think the best part of social networking websites is, they can sometimes work like a support group because I feel someone can tell what they feel and people listen to it. It is like an outlet for your emotions, which, if kept inside screws an individual mind. Disadvantages As everything else this also have negative effects. According to me, the wastage of time is the biggest damage that social networking websites cause. Entertainment Advantage I think more than anything mentioned above entertainment is the thing for which the internet is used. You can find almost every song made anywhere in the world on the internet and same is for movies. All sorts of multiplayer games can be played with an opponent who might be on the other side of the world; thanks to internet. Disadvantage Internet has encouraged the concept of piracy. Due to this, the individual or the production house or the music label that produces a particular piece of music/movie/video game ends up with a hole in their profits.

14. Data Storage Advantage There are lots of sites on which you can store your vital data by paying a small rent of the hard disk that it takes. For very important things like wedding video or pictures which you don’t want to lose can be stored there because crashing of the hard drive is not a very rare sight now a days. Disadvantage We have seen endless number of times in history that these kinds of sites have been compromised by hackers. This creates a fear in the mind of users about the secrecy of their content. Asking a question Advantage If there is a question in your mind of which no answer can be found neither in the books nor on the internet itself then, there are lots of sites available in which you can put a question and there will be millions of people answering it. As you don’t need to reveal any identity to do so; you can ask the most embarrassing questions. Disadvantage Most of the people answering these questions are not qualified professionals. This leads to lot of myths spreading around.