10 Myths about the Internet

Myth #1: The Internet Is Free
This interesting myth has never been true. At first the only people who were online were military personnel or university students. The military had accounts due to their jobs; the students had accounts through their universities. When the average consumer began to access the Internet they paid fees to a service provider. They still do. In the early days, users paid by the minute for time used, and being online is still not free. Creating your own website is not free; you have to pay for the site and for the domain name. The same goes for e-mail. It is "free" to send an e-mail, but you pay for the monthly service that sends your message.

Myth #2: The Internet has No Boundaries
Many people believe the World Wide Web is just that, an international space that can bring the whole world together in peace and harmony. Think again. If the government of China can set up an elaborate system of filters to prevent it’s citizens from seeing certain websites, or if the Pakistani government can block YouTube, which it has done, then it’s obvious the Internet has political and economic boundaries.

Myth #3: The Internet is a dangerous place
How often have you heard someone suggest the Internet is filled with danger, especially for children? News accounts of predators trolling for gullible children or bullies cruelly harassing someone into suicide perpetuate this myth. Yes, these represent real danger but in general the Internet is no more dangerous than real life. In fact, as long as you don’t share your information with strangers you remain hidden behind a screen of anonymity.

Myth #4: Twitter is only for the rich and famous
Twitter is status updates, searching (Twitter Search), photo sharing, mashups (a combination of Twitter data with information from another website such as a news organization), open API projects (TwitPic, for photo sharing, was one of the first), hashtags (a tag appended to a tweet that makes it searchable by that tag) and a marketing tool for anyone from celebrities, politicians and businesses to teachers or students.
If you sign up for Twitter, anyone can read your tweets and choose to follow you, you don’t have to be famous. If you want a lot of followers, seek them out. Share your story, photos, use hashtags and tweet frequently. Retweeting (RT) will also help spread your name around.

Myth #5: Google is making us dumber
Do you know the capital of Peru? Who was the first female governor in the U.S.? What is the tallest mountain in the world? If you don’t know the answers to any of these questions, you can “Google them” and find out. There was a time when everyone was expected to memorize facts. Today we simply turn to the computer. Does Google make us dumber? Or, do we spend our time learning other things instead of memorizing facts? Surprisingly, people have been blaming technology for making us dumber for centuries. Socrates worried the invention of the written word would cause men to become forgetful. Critics of the Internet say it will cause us to forget how to think critically but there are no studies showing any connection between Google and intelligence.

Myth #6: Google Earth is spying on us
Google Earth is not affiliated with the CIA or FBI and is not a spy camera. Every image available on Google Earth is one to three years old and was purchased from satellite companies. Anyone afraid they were captured on camera can rest assured there is a face-blurring program in place to protect your anonymity.

Myth #7: Facebook is selling people’s pictures
It is not a good idea to post pictures to Facebook you do not want others to see. However, this rumor suggests if you delete your account, Facebook could still use your pictures for commercial purposes. The rumor surfaced following recent changes to Facebook’s Terms of Service which, according to the company, were an attempt at clarification. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg posted a statement on the company’s blog saying Facebook has no intention of selling anyone’s pictures for any reason.

Myth #8: Microsoft invented Windows
While Bill Gates is synonymous with computers, an engineer named Douglas Englebart is the man behind several key computer innovations including the mouse and the graphical user interface, or GUI (pronounced "gooey"). In the early 1970s, a team of researchers expanded Englebart's concept and built the Xerox Alto, the first personal computer with windows, icons, menus and a pointing device. In 1979, 24-year-old Steve Jobs received the product’s technical documentation. In 1983 Apple released the Lisa, the first commercial computer with a "windows" GUI. Gates, who wrote software for the Mac, released Windows 2.0 in 1987.

Myth #9: The Internet Makes Governments More Accountable
Independent websites are popping up every day with the stated purpose of monitoring government activities. However, technology doesn’t necessarily ferret out more detailed information even though it does give the appearance of open government and greater access. A healthy democracy with an effective system of checks and balances is the best way to make governments more accountable.

Myth #10: The Internet boosts political participation
The Internet has created new avenues for the exchange of opinions and political dialogue; unfortunately critics see these discussions as shallow and counterproductive to healthy debate. Criticism of technology’s impact on politics dates back to television when it was thought TV would turn voters into passive puppets. More people are voicing their opinions, but on the Internet it may be coming from an increasingly selective group of sources like bloggers with strong political leanings.