What is the Internet? Each definition of the Internet is a simplified statement and runs the risk of being outdated within a short time. What is usually referred to as the Internet is a network of thousands of computer networks (so called autonomous systems) run by governmental authorities, companies, and universities, etc. Generally speaking, every time a user connects to a computer networks, a new Internet is created. Technically speaking, the Internet is a wide area network (WAN) that may be connected to local area networks (LANs). What constitutes the Internet is constantly changing. Certainly the state of the future Net will be different to the present one. Some years ago the Internet could still be described as a network of computer networks using a common communication protocol, the so-called IP protocol. Today, however, networks using other communication protocols are also connected to other networks via gateways. Also, the Internet is not solely constituted by computers connected to other computers, because there are also point-of-sale terminals, cameras, robots, telescopes, cellular phones, TV sets and and an assortment of other hardware components that are connected to the Internet. At the core of the Internet are so-called Internet exchanges, national backbone networks, regional networks, and local networks. Since these networks are often privately owned, any description of the Internet as a public network is not an accurate. It is easier to say what the Internet is not than to say what it is. On 24 October, 1995 the U.S. Federal Networking Council made the following resolution concerning the definition of the term "Internet": "Internet" refers to the global information system that (i) is logically linked together by a globally unique address space based on the Internet Protocol (IP) or its subsequent extensions/follow-ons; (ii) is able to support communications using the Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) suite or its subsequent extensions/follow-ons, and/or other IP-compatible protocols; and (iii) provides, uses or makes accessible, either publicly or privately, high level services layered on the communications and related infrastructure described herein." (http://www.fnc.gov/Internet_res.html) What is generally and in a simplyfiying manner called the Internet, may be better referred to as the Matrix, a term introduced by science fiction writer William Gibson, as John S. Quarterman and Smoot Carl-Mitchell have proposed. The Matrix consists of all computer systems worldwide capable of exchanging E-Mail: of the USENET, corporate networks and proprietary networks owned by telecommunication and cable TV companies. Strictly speaking, the Matrix is not a medium; it is a platform for resources: for media and services. The Matrix is mainly a very powerful means for making information easily accessible worldwide, for sending and receiving messages, videos, texts and audio files, for transferring funds and trading securities, for sharing resources, for collecting weather condition data, for trailing the movements of elephants, for playing games online, for video conferencing, for distance learning, for virtual exhibitions, for jamming with other musicians, for long distance ordering, for auctions, for tracking packaged goods, for doing business, for chatting, and for remote access of computers and devices as telescopes and robots remotely, e. g. The Internet is a wonderful tool for exchanging, retrieving, and storing data and sharing equipment over long distances and eventually real-time, if telecommunication infrastructure is reliable and of high quality. For a comprehensive view of uses of the Matrix, especially the World Wide Web, see ""24 Hours in Cyberspace"

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Public Relations and the Advertising Industry The public relations industry, the same as advertising, is concentrated in the hands of few dominant firms. Still, the striking element about corporate public relations is that PR firms are tightly related to advertising companies. Nine out of the ten biggest international PR agencies have close ties with the advertising industry. Also, looking at the largest acquisitions involving U.S. PR firms from 1997 to 1999 it is apparent that money coming from advertising agencies has played an important role. Table: Top 10 PR Firms 1998 Rank 1998 PR Firm Advertising Agency Related 1998 Net Fees (in U.S. $) 1997 - 1998 % Change 1 Burson-Marsteller yes 258,417,000 4.2 2 Hill and Knowlton yes 206,000,000 8.9 3 Porter Novelli Int. yes 183,050,000 23.6 4 Shandwick yes 170,300,000 7.3 5 Fleishman-Hillard yes 160,692,000 19.1. 6 Edelman PR Worldwide no 157,840,530 18.1 7 Ketchum yes 125,248,000 29.6 8 BSMG Worldwide yes 118,963,000 93.0 9 Weber PR Worldwide yes 83,166,000 36.2 10 GCI/APCO yes 79,667,957 28.4 With many PR agencies sold to advertising companies, the advertising industry's influence further increases; enabling them to offer their clients not only advertising services, but also know-how in marketing, public opinion, crisis and issues management and political lobbying. Table: Acquisition of PR Agencies (1997 - 1999) Acquired Company Buyer Buyers Industry Estimated Purchase Price (in millions of U.S. $) International PR Interpublic Group of Cos. Advertising 230 Fleishman-Hillard Omicom Group Advertising 85 Ketchum Omnicom Group Advertising 60 Dewe Rogerson Incepta Advertising 40 Financial Rel. Bd. BSMG/TN Public Relations 33 Weber PR Interpublic Group of Cos. Advertising 15 Alexander WPP Group Advertising 15 Charles Barker BSMG/TN Public Relations 15 Source: Odwyerpr.com.

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Gateway A gateway is a computer supplying point-to-multipoint connections between computer networks.

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The World Wide Web History Project The ongoing World Wide Web History Project was established to record and publish the history of the World Wide Web and its roots in hypermedia and networking. As primary research methods are used archival research and the analysis of interviews and talks with pioneers of the World Wide Web. As result a vast of collection of historic video, audio, documents, and software is expected. The project's digital archive is currently under development. http://www.webhistory.org/home.html

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Henry Ford b. July 30, 1863, Wayne County, Michigan, U.S. d. April 7, 1947, Dearborn, Michigan, U.S. American industrialist who revolutionized factory production with his assembly-line methods. Celebrated as both a technological genius and a folk hero, Ford was the creative force behind an industry of unprecedented size and wealth that in only a few decades permanently changed the economic and social character of the United States. Once Ford realized the tremendous part he and his Model T automobile had played in bringing about this change, he wanted nothing more than to reverse it, or at least to recapture the rural values of his boyhood. Henry Ford, then, is an apt symbol of the transition from an agricultural to an industrial America.

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