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The State of the Internet 2009 Infograph

Chase — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 05:12:03 +0000

I love infographs. I love seeing statistics of how much the Web has grown over the years even more. It’s truly incredible to see the advances we have made on the web over the past year. The argument could be made that we have made as much progress this past year 2009 than any other year since the web has exsisted. Bold statement yes! But the facts back it up.

Recently Focus.com created a really cool infograph displaying statistics from 2009 regarding the growth of the web and also social media. Thanks to our friends at Thoughtpick.com we have this large infograph broken down into a few segments so we can discuss each one.

The Basic Statistics: Genger, Age, Income, & Education Level

Not any real big surprises here. Young people use the Internet more than old people. Richer people have more broadband access. And those with a College education level use the web the most.

Home Usage and Desktop vs. Laptop

Interesting to see how much Internet usage has gone up for Home users. Also interesting is the closer margin between Desktop and Laptop internet users. More home internet usage means more opportunity for entertainment and lesiure type websites and applications.

Internet Speed an Issue & Internet Penetration

I was shocked to see the United States Average Broadband Speed in comparison to other top countries. I always knew it was a problem after hearing it discussed from time to time, but I didn’t know there was that big of a discrepancy. The U.S better do something in order to stay relevant on the web. And do it soon!

Social Media and the Blogosphere

Some more interesting stuff here. Blogging apparently is for the middle-aged while the younger generations use strictly Social Media outlets like Facebook and Twitter. Does this mean i’m turning old school? According to the statistics it does, and you could be too if you are a blogger like me.

How is The Mobile Web?

With all the new smart phones, iPhones, mobile applications and so forth, how fast is this new world of Internet that we are all using? Funny enough, it seems like Mobile Internet bandwidth could be exceeding home and office bandwidth in the next couple of years in the United States. And that’s not exatterating.

Expect 2010 in all honesty to be even better than 2009. Can’t wait to see what this new year brings us on the web. Hopefully we can all work hard to be a part of it!

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5 Web Things I’m Thankful For This Thanksgiving

Chase — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 19:00:45 +0000

Happy Thanksgiving to all you guys! I thought I would spend some time and put together a list of the 10 Web related things I’m thankful for this Thanksgiving. The Web and the communities within it that I’ve been a part of, have been so helpful to me both in my professional and personal life. Here are the 10 things on the Web that I am most thankful for this year.

1. The WordPress CMS

At the top of my list is the WordPress open source project, and all the developers and designers who make it possible. The WordPress CMS is what powers this blog, as well as many of the other sites I run on the web. Without WordPress I would not have the ability to share the information I learn to all of you. Sure there would be another major blog cms, but the tools that WordPress have created are simply amazing. Thanks WordPress team!

2. Google Search

Yes this is a big one. And some of you are probably wondering why I have this on my list. The ability for us to search Google and have any answer to any question at our fingertips at all times, has been around long enough to where many of us are beginning to take it for granted. There have been literally thousands of occassions where I have found myself in desperate need of solving a problem, and a simple Google search has saved the day for me. Thanks Google!

3. The Entire Mozilla Project

Over the past few years, Mozilla’s Firefox and Thunderbird applications have become near neccessities for me. I can’t tell you how thankful I am for a web browser that works, is efficient, and virus protected. Firefox has allowed me to view the web in a more effective way. I can’t imagine where we would all be if we were all forced to use Internet Explorer or Safari. Thanks Mozilla team!

4. StumbleUpon

I am so thankful this Thanksgiving for StumbleUpon for 2 specific reasons. The first is for the traffic I have received this year from it. In the past 2 months alone StumbleUpon has directed over 8,000 unique visitors to this blog. The second reason i’m thankful for StumbleUpon is for the information it has provided me while researching. The Ã¢â‚¬Å“StumbleÃ¢â‚¬Â button on my Firefox browser has led me to some of the best websites, blogs, articles, and tools that I have ever come across. Big thanks to Ã¢â‚¬Å“stumblingÃ¢â‚¬Â.

5. Darren Rowse at ProBlogger.net

Darren’s blog problogger.net is the single most important learning resource for me when it comes to blogging on this blog. There isn’t a single day that goes by that I don’t read a new article from Darren and don’t learn a ton! I have found his blog to be both inspiring and educational in helping me achieve my blogging goals. Big thanks to Darren for his hard work on Problogger.net. Keep up the hard work Darren!

Open Source Is a System of Trust

Chase — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 21:03:31 +0000

In a TED Conference presentation given by Jonathan Zittrain, the topic of the Internet and Social Collaboration is discussed. The recurring theme in Jonathan’s presentation is the concept of trust, and how over the years even though our trust in people around us has decreased, the Internet exists on a foundation of trust. Before you watch the presentation and read my notes on it, let me introduce you to who Jonathan Zittrain is in case you don’t know who he is.

Jonathan Zittrain is a Harvard Law Professor, an investigator for the OpenNet Innitiative and Co-Founder of Harvard’s Berkman Center for Internet and Society. His initiatives include projects to fight malware (StopBadware) and ChillingEffects, a site designed to support open content by tracking legal threats to individual users.

It’s Amazing What Open Source Has Become

Open Source projects are a perfect example of what Jonathan Zittrain is talking about. Even though he doesn’t mention open source in his presentation, Open Source projects are in my opinion the biggest examples of this idea of online trust and collaboration.

What is it about the internet that has so much data being shared and distributed daily? It can’t all be about business. So much of the content that is distributed and shared on the web has nothing to do with people making money. So much of it has to do with different needs people have. The need to share. The need to create. The need to communicate.

What we have seen is that Open Source and the Internet as a whole balance on a very thin thread of kindness and trust. Open Source projects and the Internet as a whole seem to always be hours away from being destroyed. But somehow, because of the Ã¢â‚¬Å“good willÃ¢â‚¬Â of Internet users around the world, it continues on. Open Source thrives on the good will of Ã¢â‚¬Å“geeky strangersÃ¢â‚¬Â.

Open Source and The Web Allow Us To Trust Each Other More!

In a day in age where we feel that we cannot trust each other, the Internet has somehow allowed us humans to trust each other more. We trust reviews. We trust products being sold. We trust recommendations that we read. We trust sources that are cited. We trust listings on ebay and craigslist. We trust meeting new people that we meet in social networks.

It’s amazing what some open source code has done for the world. Let’s keep this open source thing going. Contribute in anyway you can. If you are an IT professional, start contributing code and intelligence. If you are just a user and not a developer of these open source applications, start contributing your experiences, bugs you find, and recommendations you have.

Let’s see what we can turn this Internet thing into the next couple of years!

Inventor of the World Wide Web on the Future Of The Internet

Better Understanding Cloud Computing (video)

Chase — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 15:00:16 +0000

Cloud Computing can be difficult to understand at first. I have written a few posts already about Cloud Computing, but the feedback I received from some readers is that the videos and content I posted did not make sense. I want to help you better understand what Cloud Computing is and help you visually see the benefits of the Cloud for your business. Recently, the professional CRM service SalesForce put together a neat little video that explains Cloud Computing and the benefits of it. The video is about 3 minutes long. Take a look at it here:

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I hope this helps. This video gives you an idea of what Cloud Computing is when it comes to 3rd party applications. But this Cloud Computing stuff also applies to people who want to use Open Source Applications. In many ways you can think of your web hosting account with a hosting provider as your “cloud” and the open source applications that you have setup on there. For example I have my Dreamhost web hosting account, and on it I can host a variety of open source apps from WordPress to Magento and so forth.

Do You Know What Cloud Computing Is?

After 5 Years Firefox Has Changed The World

Chase — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 21:09:39 +0000

In a short 5 year period of time, the open source web browser Mozilla Firefox has changed the way wew use the Internet, which has changed the Internet as a whole, which in turn has changed the world in many ways. Don’t believe me? Look at a few of these statistics:

1 billion downloads
about 300 million users
70 languages
4000+ extensions
30,000+ personas
25% global market share

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The Firefox Effect

Simply put, if it were not for Firefox we could all very well be using the Internet Explorer browser from Microsoft. Microsoft without the competition of the Mozilla Firefox browser, would never have had a great motivation to improve the IE browser and we would all be stuck viewing the web with a buggy and low-functional web browser.

The technology of the browser enables us to increase the technology of the web applications that we build and use. Because Firefox has been an open source project, it has been able to grow, adapt, and change on a regular basis for the last 5 years. It’s safe to say that if this project was not open source, we would be stuck with a lower functioning web browser and we would be years behind where we are today in web technologies.

After seeing the progress of the Firefox browser over the last 5 years, I am excited to be a part of the efforts over the next 5 years. I cannot wait to see what changes we all collaborate to make and what technologies can be created. Understanding that Firefox only has 25% of the market share, there is still much room for growth and innovation. These next few years should be exciting!

To read more about the celebration of 5 years of Firefox go to spreadfirefox.com

Inventor of the World Wide Web on the Future Of The Internet

Chase — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 00:37:24 +0000

Tim Berners-Lee (no not Al Gore) is the creator of the World Wide Web. At a TED conference back in February earlier this year, Berners-Lee gave a presentation on his predictions on the future of the Internet. Being that he is one of minds behind the Internet as we know it today, I trust that he has a pretty good idea of what the Web is going to turn into. Watch this video here and below the video I have some notes summarizing some things.

Understand that Tim Berners-Lee is an IT genius, not a professional presenter. So his presentation is a little querky at times. But if you can give the man a moment of your time you can learn quite a bit.

The Future is about Linked Data

Imagine a world where all Data on the web is linked together in a cloud. Imagine a social web where all your social media profiles are literally linked together. This is just one example. The concept of Linked Data is much bigger than just this tiny example. The concept that data throughout the world can be shared and integrated through standards could change the world forever.

This concept is all about making the word run better. You will find on the web that Internet users do a good job collaborating information. But the systems behind the scenes need to better integrate with each other. Also, governments and enterprises need to have more transparency and do a better job of providing their data and Ã¢â‚¬Å“linking itÃ¢â‚¬Â in the cloud.

What do you think? What did you think of Tim Berners-Lee presentation?

Open Source Is a System of Trust

Do You Know What Cloud Computing Is?

Chase — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 02:19:17 +0000

I’m sure you have heard of the new popular web term going around called Cloud Computing. You hear about it in the blogs. You see IBM commercials talking about things like “cloud computing” and working in “the cloud”. But what does all this really mean? What is Cloud Computing? What is “the cloud?”

I must admit that I am still trying to wrap my mind around the entire subject of cloud computing, but after hours of research and reading I am getting closer to fully understanding it. I thought I would share with you a video that helped me out in the beginning of my research to understand what cloud computing is.

Joyent.com put together a video during last year’s Web 2.0 conference where they interviewed many big name web people and asked them what they thought Cloud Computing is. This video is about 10 minutes long and I strongly recommend taking 10 minutes of your day, watch this video and prepare to take some notes.

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What did you think? Do you think you have a better idea of what Cloud Computing is? What questions do you have? I am preparing to write some more info that I have learned on the subject and i’m looking to know what questions you guys might have.

Better Understanding Cloud Computing (video)

Why You Should Know The History of Google

Chase — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 20:00:14 +0000

I am fascinated with the creation and history of Google. I have read several books and articles on the subject, and I’m fascinated with the overall influence Google has had on the world. Other than enjoying the subject however, there are 5 specific reasons I think everyone on the web should know the history of Google. Those who do will gain an advantage in their online efforts over their competition. But before I explain to you why, here is a short but cool video on the History of Google:

1. Better Understanding the Search Engine

There are so many theories on Search Engine Optimization it can make you dizzy. But the very best theories come from those who understand Google as a whole. They understand not only what Google is currently doing, but what Google is most likely going to do based on their history. Based on their overall goal with the Google Search Engine.

2. Understand Google’s Next Move

When you see what Google has done over the history of their existence, and you combine that with an understanding of what it is they are trying to carry out as an overall goal, you get a good idea of what their next move is. An example of this is the recent Google SideWiki project. The concept of ‘peer reviewed’ search results. Why would they want something like this? Knowing the history of the original ‘Back Rub’ search engine project will help you understand why.

3. See The Whole Google Vision

Some say that Google wants to Ã¢â‚¬Å“dominate the webÃ¢â‚¬Â and that this is its primary goal. While that is most likely correct, there are some specifics to what that actually means. Google has found its success by providing the everyday user like you and me, the ability to search for information and have the most relevant information provided to us as possible.

They have accomplished this with a ‘do no evil’ standard within the company, doing whatever it takes to provide relevant search results and not tampering with the results in any way. In return Google has access to the largest amount of intelligence on people in the entire world, knowing exactly what people are searching for. That intelligence can now be used to provide new business opportunities throughout the world.

4. Be a Part of History

There are so many ways you can get involved. And the benefits of being involved are tremendous. Everything from starting a company that is eventually purchased by Google like YouTube, to working for Google as an employee, to being a test driver of new Google applications such as the new Google Wave Project. All of these are new opportunities to succeed in this new world of ours.

5. Motivation For You

Google just like any other company, started with nothing. Founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin were nobodies just like you and I. Google is a true American story. With this great country, Google would not be possible. Without some inner layer of motivation, desire, passion, and hard work from its founders, this huge thing called Google could not be possible.

Although it may be hard to realize now because of the massive size of what Google has become, understanding where it all started will motivate you to ‘keep on keepin on’ in your online efforts.

For more info on the history of Google you can refer to the Google Milestones page from Google Corporate and also the Official Google Timeline.

The Week in Review Ã¢â‚¬â€œ 10/25/09

Chase — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 14:41:45 +0000

In the past week I have covered everything from new WordPress plugins to help you with your blog, to a new CRM theme for WordPress that I designed that you can download and start using. In case you missed any of these articles from the past week I have listed them here. I would also like some feedback from you guys on what your needs are so I can tailor my posts this week a little more towards helping you guys. Here is the content from the past week:

2 Free Magento User Guide Ebooks!

Chase — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 15:00:25 +0000

Learning to use the open source Magento shopping cart can be quite the task. Because Magento has so many cool features and functions, it naturally has quite the long learning curve.Ã‚Â Here are two user guide ebooks in PDF format free to download that will help you save a ton of time. The first is a user guide for the entire shopping cart and the second is a designer’s guide for all of you who want to customize the look of your Magento run ecommerce site.

big thanks to BanZZai for getting this user guide together.

an even bigger thanks to Tomislav Bilic over at inchoo.net for putting this together for everyone to enjoy.