The Internet is a gigantic
decentralized global network of networks connecting hundreds of millions of
computers, and the World Wide Web is a way of accessing the information over
the Internet. Anyone connected to the net can use a web browser to view web
pages that may contain text, audios, images, videos, and other multimedia and
navigate between them via hyperlinks.
Each page has a unique web address called a URL
(unique resource locator). A user may retrieve a webpage by typing the URL
into the web browser’s address bar. But usually, users simply navigate to pages via
hyperlinks from search engine results page or from some other webpage.
A suite of protocols, the TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol), provide end-to-end connectivity on the
internet. The methods, common languages, and set of rules outlined in these
protocols are required to ensure that devices can connect and communicate on
the net.
As far as public information goes, the internet is
virtually all encompassing. By way of example, Wikipedia comprises about 57
million pages in 2022 covering 6.6 million articles in English. If it existed in hard copy the
average library would not be able to contain it, yet any page of information
that we seek from its depths can easily be retrieved via a search engine,
within a few seconds.
From the marketer’s perspective, it is pertinent
that the days that people rely on hard copy brochures and manuals for
information are numbered. Nowadays the vast majority of customers simply google
the information they seek. For businesses to survive they need to exist in cyberspace and
ensure that their customers find them there.
Both for businesses as well as individuals, their
sites (website, blog, social network etc.) are essentially their “properties”
in cyberspace. Depending on their purpose, these sites, in the course of time, are
becoming immensely valuable to their owners.
Engaging billions across the world, the internet is
buzzing with activity. People go there to indulge their passions, learn
something new, or simply have a relaxing or enjoyable experience. It is where
they congregate to interact with friends.
Marketers are striving to attract
customers and create the right kind of buzz on their cyber properties. Whether
these properties constitute websites, blogs, social networks, advertisements,
or other online media, marketers realize that in the digital era, cyberspace
has become the new marketing frontier.