Internet 101: Who uses the Internet?
Major Groups that are Online
Universities, Researchers and Educators
The old-timers of the Internet. From students and professors to cutting-edge research facilities, these people use the internet primarily for research purposes. Newsgroups on the latest nano-technology, weather analysis from antartica and research papers on the life span of coral. Dry to outsiders, but important to those 'in the know.' This use to be the core crowd on the Internet and everyone's internet address use to end 'edu' (for education). Not anymore.
Business Professionals
At first, this group consisted of mostly engineers who, like the group listed above, were using the Internet for research. From there, more and more people began using the Internet for communication. Vendors talking to suppliers, consultants talking to clients and staff members keeping each other informed.
Increasingly -- almost explosively -- businesses have begun to use the Internet for outreach. From Apple Computers (a rather obvious connection) to Ragu Sauce, companies are creating web sites to let potential consumers know about their products and services.
General Public
At some point in the past an answering machine became a neccesity. If you didn't have one, people became irritated and thought you were still operating in the Ice Age. In the not-to-distant future, people are going to feel the same way about email. How did this happen?
Commercial services have made access easy, affordable and, in some cases, even worthwhile. In 1993 Compuserve had 1.25 million subscribers and America Online had almost 700,000. Now, in 1996, CompuServe has nearly 2 million subscribers, America Online has over 5 million and both are still continuing to grow. Telephone companies and cable companies are now talking about putting businesses and homes online. Add a few more million and suddenly everyone seems to be online. While the general public is still years away from going online, the process certainly has begun.
What
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