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Sunday, December 17, 2006

An Overview of the Internet

The Frustrations of Not Understanding the Internet

80% of the cyber world uses the Internet without formal training. By using the trial-and-error technique of "fumbling successfully", so many people fumble their way through searching, emailing, downloading, blogging, chatting, and posting.

Granted, many self-taught users manage to fumble through email and Web page searching using trial-and-error, but they are destined to have five negative experiences every time they go online:

1. Self-taught users spend their online time without a feeling of true confidence or clear direction. Like watching television without a TV guide, people will find Internet destinations that interest them, but more through random chance than through directed choice.

2. Self-taught users cultivate bad Internet user habits. Unnecessary URL typing, cluttered bookmarks, confining oneself to a single search tool, using only one browser window, failing to install the latest plug- ins, mistakenly trusting spam email... all of these lead to inefficient browsing and wasted hours of searching and fumbling.

3. Self-taught users will unwittingly misrepresent themselves in email and online conversations. Obscure cultural points like "Netiquette", "emoticons", "flaming", use of abbreviations like "RTFM", lack of non-verbal cues, and blind carbon copy are some of the important nuances that elude most self-taught users.

4. Self-taught users experience frustration when the unknown overwhelms them. They don't understand things like pop-ups, unsubscribing, acronyms, Zip, peer-sharing, and URLs. As a result, a feeling of "being left out" festers, and confidence evaporates.

5. Worst of all: self-taught users miss out on so many Internet experiences because they do not know the full scope of available choices. Often called "unknown-unknowns", these are the great discoveries that are sitting at your fingertips, but are hidden from you because of ignorance. Things like dynamic data-driven news pages, Push- and Pull-Technology, mailing lists, special interest forums, online financial trading, trip planning, FTP, freeware, consumer reviews, peer sharing, academic archives, and online communities... these are tremendous opportunities that are hidden beneath a thin veil of obscurity.

Sadly, these five experiences are daily for 80% of the Internet public.

Your Guide to Internet for Beginners

"But no one has taken the time to explain the Internet to me."

"I don't have the time or money to take a formal training course on the Internet."

"I don't have the patience to study the Internet. Just tell me how to get around."

These are some of the common reasons why people choose to surf and email with 1% knowledge and 99% ignorance. Sure enough, it is possible to get by this way. But with a simple investment of a couple hours of guided study, you don't have to settle for 1% knowledge of the Internet. Even one day of formal training is enough to quadruple a beginner's knowledge of the Internet. With a few invested weekends and evenings, a person can easily become a confident intermediate user.

Formally learning the Internet is about small steps, good guidance, and practice.

Consider the analogy of learning to scuba dive. A novice diver could rent equipment and try learning to dive on his own, without professional guidance. Beyond the obvious physical hazards involved, the self-taught scuba diver is destined for incomplete knowledge, bad habits, and moderate confidence at best. His experience of the ocean will be confined to those random techniques and places he has been lucky enough to stumble upon. He will be unable to fully explain scuba diving to other beginners, and if he tries, he will pass his bad habits onto them.

The same learning model can be applied to becoming a lifelong Internet user. Do you want to save a few hours right now by diving in and figuring it for yourself? Do you want to trust the flawed guidance of another self-taught user? Or is this important enough to find a certified divemaster and invest in some formal training?

Here at About Internet For Beginners, we are your divemasters in the ocean of the Internet. We know the equipment, the challenges, the choices, the techniques that work, and the traps to avoid. We know how to defend against predators, how to find the beautiful destinations, and how to enjoy the company of other Internet divers.

Like a good diving school, About Internet For Beginners is dedicated to every beginning and intermediate user who wants to confidently navigate the Internet and its thousands of details. Whether you are a successful self-taught user, a frustrated parent who has learned a few web tricks from the kids, or a brand new beginner who wants fundamental guidance, then this site is for you.

Moreover, it doesn't cost anything to become a student at this web site. Internet knowledge that would normally cost hundreds of dollars at your local college or bookstore is absolutely free here. Because we get our advertisers to pay for this knowledge web site, it is absolutely free for you to use.

Yes, learning to "dive the Internet" is not only much safer than scuba diving, it will cost you nothing more than time and a little personal effort.
Patient versus Impatient Learning Paths for Beginners


OK. So you've decided you want to invest some time in formal Internet training. Instead of taking a course at your local college, you've chosen to stay online and read About Internet tutorials. The price is definitely right, and you can learn at home while sitting in your bathrobe.

So, where does a new Internet user start? What order of events is the best tutorial way to get started on a lifelong Internet career?

Well, the best learning technique is unique to you. Some learners are impatient and want to get quick guiding advice only, combined with lots of hands-on practice. Other people prefer long detailed explanations before doing hands-on. Most people are somewhere in between, with a vague idea of what they want to learn…to be continued

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