Proliferation of Online content - Contributary factors and implications

The proliferation of online content: Contributory factors and implications
Daniel Peter Davey
E-Business (Hons)

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“I, the undersigned, declare that this dissertation is my own original work, and I give permission that it may be photocopied and made available for inter-library loan.”
Word Count
11535
Daniel Peter Davey
Signature................................................................... ................ Date.........................

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Acknowledgement
I wish to thank my parents for making it financially possible for me to attend University, helping me realise the correct choices in life and instilling in me a drive to succeed despite the odds. I also wish to thank my brothers Jonathan and Andy for inspiration and guidance with relation to this dissertation. Finally I would like to thank my dissertation tutor Ritanjan Das for his patience and direction.

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Dedicated to Rusty
“Who finds a faithful friend, finds a treasure”

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Abstract
This proliferation has led to an increase in E-commerce providers for this content. It has allowed the internet to be content driven with the most valuable content being that favoured by increasingly discerning users. This has led to an exponential rise in E-Commerce with increasingly more power being placed in the hands of innovative forward thinking providers.
“ The rapid expansion and adoption of the internet throughout the entire world, increased purchasing power and huge market of developing countries, and recent extensive movement of globalization create enormous opportunities for E-Commerce (EC) to diffuse throughout the whole world” (Shareef, 2009)
This increase in users will plateau once internet proliferation reaches saturation. This is already become the case in the United Kingdom and as such the government and private sector businesses are now focusing on speeds, availability and standardisation to transition Britain into a new “online age”.

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Contents
1. Introduction 1
1.1. Introduction 2
1.2. Background 3
1.2.1. Broadband and narrowband 3
1.2.2. Mobile Internet 4
2. Literature Review 6
2.1. Introduction 7
2.2. Capabilities 7
2.2.1. Internet/Broadband proliferation 7
2.2.1.1. Speed 8
2.2.1.2. Availability 9
2.2.1.3. Standardisation 9
2.2.1.4. Connections 9
2.2.1.5. Cost 10
2.2.2. Mobile Internet 10
2.2.2.1. Social networking 11
2.2.2.2. Media 11
2.2.2.3. Mobile Broadband 12
2.2.2.4. Cost 12
2.3. Technology 13
2.3.1. PC and Laptop Computers 13
2.3.2. Mobile Phones 13
2.3.3. Applications 14
2.4. Social Trends 15
2.4.1. Information use 15
2.4.1.1. Positive 15
2.4.1.2. Negative 16
2.4.2. Social interaction 17
2.4.3. Blogging 18
2.4.4. Social Networking Sites SNS 20
2.5. Ethical Dilemmas 23

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3. Methodology 24
3.1. Introduction 25
3.1.1. Background 25
3.1.2. Method 25
3.2. Quantitative data 26
3.3. Qualitative 27
3.4. Role of the researcher 28
3.5. Summary 29
4. Analysis 30
4.1. Introduction 31
4.2. Quantitative survey 31
4.2.1. Basics 31
4.2.2. Internet 31
4.2.3. Social Networking 32
4.2.4. Internet and social trends 32
4.3. Qualitative survey 35
5. Conclusion 40
5.1. Technological factors in proliferation 41
5.2. Social Factors in proliferation 42
5.3. Abilities of the internet compared to use 42
5.4. Social and ethical impact 43
5.5. Attitudes after experimentation 43
5.6. Conclusion 43
5.7. Evaluation 44
6. References 45
Appendix A
Appendix B

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1.1 Introduction
“The impact of the Internet on the commercial landscape is on par with the Industrial Revolution that took place during the mid 18th century” (Phillips, 2003, p1)
The internet is the single greatest shift of commercial and social status quo in modern history. Despite its widespread use in everyday life, from grocery shopping to instant flight updates it still has limitless potential. It has led to the creation of strategies, companies, content and information flows that were previously unimaginable. This combined with the ever changing nature of the internet has allowed progressively smaller companies to get involved with and have an impact on their target market.
The object of this research is to identify factors that have led to the success and proliferation of online media/content providers and the social and ethical impact of this proliferation.
The primary objectives of this research are to:
 Explore the technological and social factors that have led to the proliferation of the internet
 Compare the abilities of current internet media and content with the average use of internet media and content
 Examine the social and ethical impact of internet proliferation
 Study the attitudes after experimentation of people after they have been made aware of the possibilities of new media and content.
The main factors that affect the use of internet media and content are.
 Accessibility of the information. Whether it is very high bandwidth and requires a fixed high speed broadband. i.e. BBC iPlayer. Or low and can be accessed via mobile broadband i.e. Wikipedia
 Reliability of the information. In the layered chaos that is the internet countless sources claim to hold the information needed but whether they are accurate, able to stream fast enough or compatible with the device been used is another matter and
 Security. Whether information or content being downloaded or streamed is virus free or safe to upload personal data i.e. credit card information to download songs on iTunes.

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1.2 Background.
1.2.1 Broadband and narrowband
The increase in broadband access at home has paved the way for many of the improvements in available content and media. From the simple advantage of cost to the new improved securities for home networks. In both cases proliferation of home broadband leads to a large increase in internet use and speed.
Although there have been numerous advances and changes that have already taken place in the commercial world as a result of the internet, there are still limitless possibilities. These are currently being fuelled by the vast increase in internet speeds being made available and the proliferation of internet users.
“Despite the velocity of technology change, one should not conclude that the Internet has now finished changing. The Internet, is a creature of the technology, not the traditional network of the telephone or television company” (Phillips, 2003, p17)
“Of all UK households, 63 per cent (16.5 million) had a broadband Internet connection in 2009, an increase from 56 per cent in 2008. The number of all households with broadband has increased by 6.6 million since 2006.” (National Statistics, 2009)
This has paved the way in the last few years for new media and internet based content providers that require higher internet speeds to stream or download the larger media files. This ever changing market allows fresh competition and ideas to determine the direction of new media and content.

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Fig 1.2.1 Increase in UK broadband connections as a percentage of usage.
Source: (National Statistics, 2009)
The above graph also shows that the usage of the internet is still increasing, it can be clearly seen that the comparative increase in broadband use vastly outstrips the increase of users.
1.2.2 Mobile internet
New outlets for internet use combined with ever increasing mobile broadband speeds mean the world of broadband internet is now available to people 24 hours a day wherever they may be. This has led to the creation of M-commerce “online commerce performed from mobile phones or hand-held computers.” (Phillips, 2003, p11)
“Mobile broadband subscriptions overtook fixed broadband subscribers in 2008, highlighting the huge potential for the mobile Internet” (International Telecommunication Union, 2009)
The below graphs show the number of new connections for each year in each category and total worldwide mobile connections. This does not take into account the overall usage in each category where mobile broadband is considerably lower than fixed broadband connections. It can however be seen that the increase in mobile broadband over the last 4 years has been astronomical.
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10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
2006
2007
2008
2009
Households with access to the Internet and broadband
Narrowband
Broadband

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Fig 1.2.2 Worldwide rise in new connections
Source: (International Telecommunication Union, 2009).
Source: (International Telecommunication Union, 2009).
(International Telecommunication Union, 2009)
Fig 1.2.3 Total number of worldwide mobile broadband connections
(International Telecommunication Union, 2009)
The above graph (fig 1.2.3) Shows that the rate of mobile broadband increase is global with
similar rates of increases throughout the different regions of the world.

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2.1 Introduction
The research conducted in this project is to identify what has led to the success of online media and its consequences. The literature reviewed contains a broad spectrum that cover the vast topic that is internet content creation success and consequences. On the one hand the project focuses on factors such as internet/broadband proliferation, technological advances and miniaturisation of broadband capable technologies. At another it focuses on social trends, ethical dilemmas and legality.
Due to the varying nature of the literature reviewed for this project. Initially the capabilities and infrastructure then the available technology will be reviewed this will lead onto its affect on social trends. Finally we will review the ethical dilemmas and legality that arise as a result of this shift in social trend.
2.2 Capabilities
The capabilities of the internet and its associated media are constantly changing and improving. As a result of this the majority of literature available is outdated or unrelated. Despite this the capabilities of the internet, in terms of speed, availability and content, are often far beyond that which it is currently being used for by the average user.
2.2.1 Internet/Broadband proliferation
“High-speed internet access via broadband infrastructure has developed rapidly worldwide since the late 1990s. Broadband infrastructure allows the generation and distribution of decentralized information and ideas in markets increasingly relying on information as an input.” (Czernich, 2009, p1)
The increased availability and speeds of the internet have led to possibilities for developers and users that have never existed before. With basic fixed broadband speeds starting at 6Mb it is now possible for people in their home to stream and download an infinite catalogue of online content. This combined with the massive increase in people “online” means a small online business has potential access to 1.8 billion people on estimated to be online a 400% increase from 360million in 2000 (US Census Bureau, 2009)

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“The internet potentially offers individuals, institutions, small and large businesses, all communities, and all levels of government with new opportunities for learning, interacting, transacting business and developing their social and economic potential.” (Shareef, 2009)
“The use of the Internet for online audiovisual activities also saw significant developments in 2009. An increasing number of broadcasters made their content available to web viewers or listeners in 2009, highlighted by the 42 percent of recent users listening to web radio or watching web television. This increased from 34 per cent in 2008.” (National Statistics, 2009)
This proliferation has led to an increase in E-commerce providers for this content. It has allowed the internet to be content driven with the most valuable content being that favoured by increasingly discerning users. This has led to an exponential rise in E-Commerce with increasingly more power being placed in the hands of innovative forward thinking providers.
“ The rapid expansion and adoption of the internet throughout the entire world, increased purchasing power and huge market of developing countries, and recent extensive movement of globalization create enormous opportunities for E-Commerce (EC) to diffuse throughout the whole world” (Shareef, 2009)
This increase in users will plateau once internet proliferation reaches saturation. This is already become the case in the United Kingdom and as such the government and private sector businesses are now focusing on speeds, availability and standardisation to transition Britain into a new “online age”.
2.2.1.1. Speed
This focus on speeds by the private sector is shifting the focus from volume to quality this is to increase profits and keep the business expanding. Broadband company’s higher bandwidth packages are becoming increasingly faster and varied. These companies are starting to offer integrated digital broadband cable TV and VOIP (Voice over internet Protocol) phone deals alongside their broadband as the faster speeds allow for much more ISP (internet service provider) content to be delivered to the user.

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2.2.1.2. Availability
Increasing the availability of media and content to the user via fixed internet is another major factor that is becoming of greater importance. This is usually offering the same content via multiple outlets for example BBC news is now available on digital HD (high definition) through an ISP’s digital television package. It is also available on the BBC website and live streaming on the internet via BBC iPlayer. In addition to this the BBC allows the user to create their Own BBC content via RSS (really simple syndication) feeds. RSS is an internet data feed that can be read on multiple devices and is automatically updated.
“Over the past 5 years, the total number of fixed broadband subscribers has grown more than threefold, from about 150 million in 2004, to almost 500 million by the end of 2009” (International Telecommunication Union, 2009)
2.2.1.3. Standardisation
The new United Kingdom “Digital Economy Bill” looks to improve the security, availability and infrastructure of the internet. It does this by, among other things, establishing greater authority for a governing body (OFCOM) and providing funds and regulation to standardise digital media. It can be argued however that this bill is more in favour of large corporations and information control and not making internet access simpler for the user.
2.2.1.4. Connections
Despite users with broadband making up 90% of the total UK internet users (fig 1.2.1) it makes up 95.1% of the traffic on the internet (National Statistics, 2009) This shows that users with broadband are using the internet more often that those with narrowband. From this we can extrapolate that targeting the broadband users capabilities with regard to speed would yield a much greater percentage of daily consistent users than targeting the low speeds of narrowband.
“The introduction and diffusion of broadband had an important impact on growth in GDP per capita. After a country has introduced broadband, GDP per capita is 2.7 to 3.9 percent higher on average than before its introduction” (Czernich, 2009, p29)

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2.2.1.5 Cost
More ISP’s now offer more internet products and as the infrastructure of high speed internet becomes more advanced and capable of transferring more information. This combined with the highly competitive environment means the prices for broadband speed have decreased or remained the same despite the massive increase in speeds now offered.
2.2.2 Mobile internet
“Undoubtedly, the diverse meanings of what it means to be mobile are translated into the field of mobile media” (Hjorth, 2009, p 19:3)
The mobile internet or M-internet has caused a fundamental shift in the use of internet content. Recent years have seen a massive increase in the use of mobile phones globally with an estimated 4.6 billion subscribers worldwide (International Telecommunication Union, 2009). This combined with the new technologies available mean the internet is becoming more accessible on mobile devices and media (fig 1.2.2) with mobile broadband subscriptions overtaking fixed broadband subscribers in 2008 (International Telecommunication Union, 2009).
This increase in use of mobile technology for the uses of mobile internet has opened the door to possibilities, allowing the introduction of new phenomena such as Social networking, publication and live news media. Further to this the new “trend” of broadband capable phones as a fashion accessory. i.e. “iPhone” means there is a vast increase in broadband capable phones being used for non broadband related activities as the available content has not yet fully caught up with the technology.
“With the rapid adoption of the Internet and electronic commerce (e-commerce), the acclimatization of consumers to mobile devices, and the advent of third generation (3G) technology, Mobile Commerce (M-Commerce) is set to become one of the most promising and lucrative growth markets.” (Kim et al, 2007)

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2.2.2.1. Social networking
“New technologies do not simply influence users’ social life but shape it to a substantial degree” (Kraut et al, 2006, p6)
Sites such as Facebook have a faithful user base of 400 million people with an estimated 50% “logging in” daily. (The Guardian, 2010) Although this is based on worldwide figures most of whom log in from fixed broadband the increase in mobile traffic in the last 12 months suggests a new trend towards mobile social networking. This can be shown by “twitter” mobile access up by 347% and facebook up by 114% in Jan 2010 when compared with Jan 2009. (readwriteweb, 2010) This increase in mobile social networking comes as the natural progression from fixed social networking as the emphasis with facebook is on constant updating and connectivity to “friends” with the key feature being a constantly updated friend “status feed” and a personal status box or in the case of twitter creating “tweets” or snippets of one’s own opinion.
“The (new) technologies allow people to enact new kinds of social relationships, therefore bringing a qualitative change to their lives.” (Kraut et al, 2006, p6)
2.2.2.2. Media
“As one of the most ubiquitous and pervasive technologies in everyday life, mobile media has a formidable capacity for commenting on both the social and creative dimensions of contemporary practice” (Hjorth, 2009)
Despite the revolution of media made possible by the internet including UCC (user created content), main stream media digital operations and advertising, the possibilities of mobile media give even more scope to these already very successful and innovative media outlets. These include such content providers as youtube who now offer their entire catalogue via streaming on 3G devices. Other capabilities include personalisation where a user will receive data and media based on their location. Also micro movies which are movies made for mobile devices, pocket films which are movies for screening on either the mobile device or other screens including cinema have become feasible as a result of new technology and mobile broadband. (Hjorth, 2009, p 19:3)

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“Projects such as location-based mobile gaming have the ability to challenge the normalcy of a sense of place and space” (De Souza e Silva, 2006)
Mobile internet is technically very similar to fixed internet. However the content offered is structured completely differently. This is done by having highly targeted content delivered to the user, usually via a third party application or “app”. This content is based on many things including geographical location search data collected during the users browsing and basic demographics. These app content providers will be discussed further on in this literature review when discussing devices and miniaturisation.
Despite the information and content available via M-internet providers it is still inferior in quality to that available on fixed internet devices this can lead to users questioning the relative benefit of M-internet.
2.2.2.3. Mobile broadband
Not only are mobile devices now used for mobile internet traditional devices such as laptops can also be used. The content for these devices is mainly aimed at the business user with content such as the previously discussed RSS feeds and other such quick access content. As this technology is mainly aimed at the B2B (business to business) user it allows work to be carried out from anywhere in the world and therefore has created a shift in social trend towards telecommuting.
2.2.2.4 Cost
As opposed to fixed internet the biggest factors that affect the proliferation of mobile internet and M-commerce are cost. To have a sufficiently fast enough device to stream services effectively and provide a seamless internet experience, users are pushed towards the high end mobile devices. The availability of broadband on these high end devices is a large barrier to entry for most users to mobile broadband as despite the reduced costs of M-internet including fixed rate packages and roaming packages a broadband capable device is still required.
“Costs can be minimized by lowering usage fee and/or improving the technical quality of M- Internet. Potential adopters of M-Internet are found to be sensitive to cost, given that their adoption decision is largely dependent on perceived value” (Kim et al, 2007)

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2.3 Technology
The technology available today means almost limitless connection to the internet via a high speed link is possible 24 hours a day. Data can be received and transferred seamlessly between devices and sent virtually anywhere in the world. This can include anything from emails arriving as messages on mobile phones to live streaming video transferred via mobile phones to the internet available to be viewed by anyone in the world with an internet connection. A barrier to adopting this technology is experience and confidence for “As individuals gain more experience with the Internet, they increasingly use it for a wider variety of purposes” (Kraut et al, 2006, p71) The main technologies through which this content is provided are the PC (personal computer), Laptop Computer and Mobile phone.
2.3.1 PC and Laptop computers
Personal computer technology has seen a leap in the last 10 years. From 1ghz processors with dial up technology and meagre storage. To 3ghz quad core processors with 50mb broadband and 2TB of storage in early 2010. This means that not only can users browse the internet 1000 times faster but can store vast amounts of media from music and “podcasts” to movies and games. The increased emphasis of operating systems and applications to be web based or streaming means that, even on fixed line broadband, users are almost always online in some function.
2.3.2 Mobile phones
The last few years have seen the rise of the mobile phone as more than just a device for mobile phone calls. Through the creation of 3G (third generation) technology and soon to be 4G (fourth generation) technology, mobile phones have become miniature gateways to the internet and more. It has allowed everything from streaming internet radio and video to live geographical location based on triangulation within your coverage zone. With the former (streaming radio) being fundamentally the same as pre internet days with a mere “shift in the mechanism” (Kraut et al, 2006, p6). This improvement of technology has also seen the rise of the App (application). Made famous by the Apple iPhone and subsequently adopted by all major phone developers.

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2.3.3 Applications
Third party applications make it possible to extract and share only the information you want with the internet from a mobile device. This is extremely important as in most cases when someone uses mobile internet they seek the information then and there and do not have the time nor wish to sift through large amounts of data to find the information they need. This can be seen on the following graph that shows the factors contributing most to the misery of internet users with relation to usability.
Fig 2.2.1 Scale of misery
Source: (Nielson et al, 2006, p129)
.
Using this scale of misery we can see in the case of most successful apps the superfluous content is removed leaving a simple effective user friendly experience. In the case of uploading information such as status on Facebook fixed line broadband users can comfortably go to the website with a mouse and full QWERTY key board and quickly log in they can therefore access and browse the full content version of the website. This becomes more difficult with mobile devices and so the simplified process used by the Facebook for iPhone/ Blackberry/ Android requires only minimal data and browsing optimisation through features such as minimised and streamlined content for the device being used.
Usability problems weighted by their severity score. Each slice indicates the percentage of the total misery imposed on users by each type of design mistake.

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2.4 Social trends
As the internet has becomes faster more accessible and available to a greater number of people. Katz (2002) compares this accessibility with access to the information and interactions leading to both individual and collective social capital. This access can have both positive and negative consequences.
2.4.1 Information use
2.4.1.1 Positive
As information flows become more freely available and accessible via numerous means a “well connected” person can be on the internet 24 hours a day whether they are physically browsing or being available though a multitude of online messaging tools that are now also available on mobile phones. This ability to be connected wherever you are means the entire information of the internet is available to the user. This information and use has been broken into the following components by Kraut (2006)
 Interpersonal communication with friends and family
 Interpersonal communication with strangers
 Instrumental information seeking
 Entertainment
 Commerce
Although all of these functions can be achieved through other means as Kraut has also described the internet allows relatively static goals performed in a slightly new way (Kraut et al, 2006, p6). In this case the new way is availability. Communication with friends and family or strangers can be conducted via the above mentioned messaging tools, though a VOIP service or via email all of which are now available on mobile phones via the mobile broadband.
Where before finding the answer to questions, purchasing goods or finding information was a laborious painstaking activity often not producing relevant results the above tasks are simply a matter of connectivity. “users assume that sites work. They assume they will find whatever they are looking for and can buy almost anything online” (Nielson, 2006, preface).

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As far as entertainment goes Kraut (2006) says young adults and teenagers are likely to use the internet for listening to music, visiting chat rooms and meeting new people. The last of these “meeting new people” has taken on a new dimension with the internet. The average Facebook user has 130 friends and spends an average of 55min per day on the site (Facebook, 2010)
All of these factors mean a person’s digital life can be run from a mobile phone or a laptop allowing them access and opportunities not available otherwise.
2.4.1.2 Negative
This almost complete involvement in the internet can have a negative aspect as much of information shared could be misused. Whitman (2007) defines the factors involved in security risk as
 Availability
 Accuracy
 Authenticity
 Confidentiality
In these cases the user’s social collective and social capital contained on the internet could be used against them.
Availability
Personal information such as email address, telephone number and even name can be used against the user if precautionary steps are not taken. For example many people that use the networking site Facebook have their real name, address, telephone number and date of birth on their “profile”. This information could be used against the user by prospective employers, spam companies where the products of spam among other things include risks for end users through the risky offerings of spam (Paulus et al, 2005)
Other hazards associated with internet dissemination of private information are identity theft and credit card fraud, although the latter requires the compromise of commercial security protocols.

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Accuracy
This affects the user when the accuracy of the information they receive has been compromised. (Whitman, 2009) This could be anything from altered facts or “uncertain expertise” on Wikipedia (Denning et al, 2005) to false medical advice offered by websites. All of these factors can have a very direct affect on users by giving miss information to them leading in poorly informed actions and decisions.
Authenticity
Authenticity of information is the quality or state of being genuine or original (Whitman, 2009). This is to do with whether the information received by the user is from the source it claims to be. This could be anything from a pirate website claiming to be something it is not through cloning to pretending to be a friend in an email. This is known as Phishing (Whitman, 2009) the risk to the user here is giving personal information to a fraudulent source.
Confidentiality
In this case this is related to the social capital kept by the user and is prevented from disclosure or exposure (Whitman, 2009). This could be anything from private pictures on a social networking site to telephone numbers and txt messages on a mobile device. The proliferation of the internet has led to this information being stored in an increasing number of locations with varying protection. It no longer has the integrity it had pre internet.
2.4.2 Social interaction
“No one today disputes that the Internet is likely to have a significant impact on social life; but there remains substantial disagreement as to the nature and value of this impact.”(Bargh & Mckenna, 2004)

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Since the increase in internet availability and speeds, internet based social contact and interactions have changed dramatically. One example of this (Katz, 2002) is that the digital divide is currently primarily one of income and education rather than of race or gender. This information is complimented by Kraut (2006) who claims that internet users are typically younger and richer than non internet users, irrespective of gender or race, this accounts for the rise in internet literacy as emerging generations have grown up with the internet.
Technology, as Dutton (2006, p6) found, “can open, close and otherwise shape social choices”. Kraut (2006) however found that people shape the impact that technology has on their lives whether directly or indirectly. This means that although the technological advances of the day have a large impact on social interaction. Even bigger contributors which perhaps drive even the technological advances are the “stable motives, wants and needs” of people (Kraut et al, 2006, p8). Kraut goes further to conclude that people are generally concerned with exploring social relationships so when new technologies become available people exploit those same technologies for this purpose.
2.4.3 Blogging
Blogging describes a new social shift where any person online can upload a Web log or blog. This is usually a regularly updated feed of information that the author wishes to make public or discuss. Blogs have been used for many reasons from the usual narcissistic domains for one’s own individual opinion, to global media critique and journalistic socio-political Intervention. (Kahn et al, 2004) Blogging allows a person to have a voice and the power of a person’s voice, in a virtual world, is measured by what they content they provide. Blogs
In recent years the proliferation of the internet has led to an exponential growth in the number of bloggers. This is because the majority of barriers to entry that traditionally held people back from published articles and opinions have been removed.

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From a technology perspective the fact that an estimated 1.9Bn people now have pc’s at home (International Telecommunication Union, 2009) has led to a massive increase in computer literacy. This coupled with the 1.8Bn estimated internet users (US Census Bureau, 2009) that have the ability to blog about a subject they want as they see fit means the main barriers to entry have been whittled away. Also traditionally a writer would require an education and endorsement by a publisher at the entry level. Now none of these traditional barriers exist for bloggers and they are judged solely on the content.
Blogging has also led to content that was previously unimaginable and impossible such as “Diary of a call girl” (http://belledejour-uk.blogspot.com/) an anonymous blogger who described her life though complete anonymity and led to a massive online following and cult status, now a successful television series and a published book (Thomas, 2009).
The negative side to this is the saturation of the internet with blogs. As Kahn (2004) discussed “The internet is a contested terrain, used by Left, Right, and Center of both dominant cultures and subcultures in order to promote their own agendas and interests” Despite this multitude of topics and themes the saturated nature of “blogosphere” (Ferdig , 2004) means that firstly it is difficult for a blogger with good content and ideas to get noticed and secondly it is difficult for users to find the good and valuable content amongst irrelevant, reworded or useless content.
An interesting result of the blogging phenomenon is the evolution of blogging groups, where blogs posted have an overwhelming reference to interaction within this virtual group. This has led to an increase in political activism amongst bloggers with left-oriented blogs being joined in “interlinking solidarity” (Kahn et al, 2004). This is not a new phenomenon as activism has been documented since Socrates (Sharma, 1972) but the shift in mechanism as Kraut (2004) described it has allowed anyone with the internet to get their opinion heard. Combined with the above mentioned groups blogging has allowed people to band together in large numbers for political and social activism and even in some cases challenge the status quo of mainstream media governed information (Kahn et al, 2004). This shows a fundamental change in social trend towards global interaction and co-operation among like minded internet users, interaction that could not take place without the proliferation of the internet.

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“Free internet connectivity in itself does not necessarily lead to social benefit” (Kahn et al, 2004)
The above statement agrees with Kraut’s (2006) view that people shape the impact technology has on their lives. This shaping can be seen as described:
 “Relative anonymity” as a user can choose their identity and the information they share.
 “Reduced importance” of physical appearance as especially in a blogging environment the bloggers content, not looks define readership.
 “Attenuation of physical distance” again the user’s content is the driving factor and the internet allows his readership to be global. This was made famous by Iraqi Salam Pax http://dear_raed.blogspot.com gave outsiders a dose of the larger unexpurgated reality as the bombs exploded overhead in Baghdad (Kahn, 2004, p92).
 “Greater control over the time and pace of interactions” the blogger can choose when and where they wish to publish their content and who they contact. Vice versa readers can choose the content they wish to read and comment on also.
Users usually blog about personal experiences (themselves, relationships, friends, daily experiences.) (Guadagno, 2007). Guadagno goes further to explain a high proportion of bloggers are writing about their personal lives and provide some amount of identifying information. This can be bad as far as a person’s security is concerned, as previously discussed this information could be used against the blogger (2.4.1.2).
2.4.4 Social Networking Sites (SNS)
“The use of social networking sites (SNS), which arrived commercially about a decade ago, has rapidly gained momentum. By late 2008, MySpace and Facebook each had 60 million U.S. users and accounted for 6%-8% of all time spent online” (Skeels, 2009)

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Background
Social networking via the internet initially took off with the advent of ICQ and AOL messenger. These initial tools allowed close friends to stay in contact and offered alternatives to traditional means of communication i.e. telephone. This expanded into websites such as classmates.com and six degrees which began to bring in communities with buddy lists and the ability to contact “buddies”. The success of arguably today’s 2 leading social networking sites (facebook and linkedin) can be attributed to early success between 2002-2004. This success had a lot to do with early strategies and the natural evolution of the sites to adjust for today’s needs.
The proliferation of the internet has led to the success of new “social networking” communities. These communities are usually free for the user and offer a variety of tools and services designed to keep the user in the community by having the functionality the user want. They are also targeted at younger generations which are the most connected with 96% of (16-24) year olds having logged in in the last 3 months (National Statistics, 2009). This increase in user base has meant that the majority of people are physically able to join a networking site. As previously discussed there is also a worldwide potential 1.9 Bn people who are able to join these social networking sites. This is a greater level of interconnectivity than has ever been available.
Facebook
The increase in speed and internet culture has also helped the increase in SNS as the nature of broadband means users are online 24 hours whether it is fixed or mobile broadband. 100m of Facebook’s 400m users log in regularly via mobile devices (Facebook, 2010). This increase in the use of Facebook as an all encompassing communication tool has also been helped by internet speeds with users able to upload custom content, pictures and movies in greater volume and quality than ever before with over 5 billion pieces of content (web links, news stories, blog posts, notes, photo albums, etc.) shared each week (Facebook, 2010).

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Facebook is also increasingly being used by large organisations and government to share information and gauge opinions. A recent 2010 UK general election campaign was designed to target Facebook users and encourage them to vote (Cellan-Jones , 2010). Many companies, artists and famous people have “fan” pages on Facebook where users can write comments and the artists companies etc can post updates and useful information.
Twitter
With regards to Twitter as a social networking website its structure is completely different from that of Facebook. Twitter’s main focus is on the micro blogging service where users update their blog with information they deem appropriate. This information could be a daily account of a user’s life. Company information about products and services or it can be used similar to a blog with just the opinions of the user. It has also been used as a promotional tool by celebrities as fans can see the day to day lives and opinions of their favourite celebrity.
As is similar with bloggers, on Twitter content is king with the emphasis being on what people discuss and what is contained in their feed as opposed to their personal information. This is probably better for users as Skeels (2009) found a tendency of students to include content that researchers suspect they will come to regret over time. An example of this is pleaserobme.com a website set up by a concerned twitter user. It is based on information readily available on twitter and points out people who are away from home and the location they are currently at. It was designed to make people aware of what information they are posting to 1.9Bn people.
2.5 Ethical Dilemmas
As the users of the internet increase and the speed at which content is delivered increases there are factors effecting growth and use that go beyond the technological ability and the wishes of the users. For example Bargh & Mckenna (2004) found internet use led to negative outcomes for individual users this included increases in depression and loneliness, and neglect of existing close relationships. Bostick (2005) went further and found that young people who spend a large amount of time online can lack social interactions invariably leading to a lack of social skills.

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It can be argued from a libertarian perspective that it is an individual’s right to choose what they do with their time on the internet provided this does not interfere with another’s life. As Aoki (1998) discussed this interference or personal boundaries and the impact of new media on boundaries of all kinds are one of the core issues of cyberspace. As the internet becomes more prolific this issue becomes wider as it becomes increasingly difficult to remain anonymous in a digital world. This coupled with the increasingly intrusive nature of web content and web applications that require ever greater amounts of data and collect much more data from the user without their permission or knowledge in a large number of cases.
The internet as a resource makes it easier for people to become independent and anonymous this contention is discussed in 2.4.3. Despite the previous statement that the proliferation decreases anonymity the internet as a whole increases anonymity when compared to the activities that were carried out prior to the internet’s creation

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3.1 Introduction
 Explore the technological and social factors that have led to the shift from traditional media to internet based media.
 Compare the abilities of internet media and content with the average use of internet media and content.
 Examine the social and ethical impact of internet media and content.
 Study the attitudes after experimentation of people after they have been made aware of the possibilities of new media and content
3.1.1. Background
The setting selection for this study is based on a pan global network of contacts gained by the researcher during an international internship in the United States. This data was collected from participants in 5 continents from a varying demographic. The vast majority of the participants are young (70.4 percent between 20-25) and currently students or have graduated university this was done by the researcher as Kraut (2006, p179) found that younger more highly educated people use the internet more. So as this group make up the majority of users and also the largest group of influencers on the direction of the technology.
This research has taken a two tier approach. One of quantitative data in the form of an online survey and one that is qualitative with a small group of select people. This two tier approach is designed to capture the greatest amount of relevant data possible from participants.
3.1.2. Method
This methodology section will be laid out as follows.
 Reasearch sample and data sources. This will give details of the samples used and the selection of the participants.
 It will then go on to describe characteristics and sample size. This will include the quantitative and mixed methods where applicable.
 Further to this the qualitative methods along with the data collection will be discussed.
 Finishing with data analysis, the role of the researcher and summary.

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3.2. Quantitative data
The first method which was used was a quantitative method based on an internet survey. This method was chosen as traditional paper based questionnaires would not have been as effective or appropriate for this type of survey. This is due to the fact that the questions being asked and the information required is also internet based. This focused on key demographic questions followed by questions on internet use and experience of participants. The second survey was about social networking and the impact it has had on people’s lives in a social context. It was designed as a short questionnaire in order to get the maximum number of responses on in the key areas related to the research.
The survey was created on a website called “surveymonkey.com” this website offered a very simple approach to creating a survey with multiple options for delivery. The web offers a set of analytical tools so that results can be collected in real time. The advantage of this method over traditional delivery methods is not only the above mentioned ease but it is much simpler to get a more varying demographic with 43.6% of the responses coming from users outside of Europe. The nature of the website (surveymonkey.com) also means multiple surveys can be created and edited in real time if any issues are brought to the attention of the researcher (Appendix B: A. ii.). One factor that had to be worked around was that one survey can only contain 10 questions unless a premium account is purchased. As 10 questions were insufficient for a penetrating survey two surveys were created for a total of 20 questions (Appendix B: B.). There were no open ended questions in the quantitative questionnaires as it was deemed inappropriate for the information required. The open ended questions were saved for the qualitative survey.
To promote this survey and get the greatest number of responses possible it was sent out via a number of channels. These included “Facebook” standard email and word of mouth. The Facebook method involved creating a “group” (Appendix B: A. i.) with links to the surveys created (Appendix B). Then inviting my friends to the group and urging them to do the same with their friends. This led to 65 members. The email and word of mouth approaches had a lower reach but these methods yielded a greater percentage of responses as the majority of those contacted were close acquaintances of the researcher. The survey was left up for 7 days and this gave sufficient time for the target sample of 70 to fill out the survey.

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A concern with this style of survey is abuse. The anonymous nature of the survey and its publication in a freely available public location means the questions are open to possible abuse. People looking to maliciously skew the data can do although that did not seem to be the case when analysing the results. Another factor that may contribute to a slight compromise of data is the decrease of anonymity of participants joining the Facebook group. This decrease is negligible as it only shows who has taken the survey not what they have written and they the number of participants creates anonymity in numbers.
The data provided by participants for this survey was securely kept in a password encrypted website and only the researcher had access. In addition to this no personal identifying data was included in the survey so as to keep it as anonymous as possible. This anonymity was probably a contributing factor towards the high proportion of survey completions and integrity of the results as people are more likely to answer truthfully in anonymous surveys Kuniavsky (2003). The survey was conducted in accordance with the University of Portsmouth ethical checklist so as to ensure no possible damage to the reputation of the researcher, university or participants.
3.3. Qualitative data
To get a true insight into people’s opinions more with a focus on the social and ethical impact a qualitative survey was also deemed necessary. Albeit with a much smaller sample of users. The method used was a 30min 1 on 1 interview with the researcher and a select group covering a varying demographic. To ensure a true variation was achieved the researcher questioned:
 1 West coast North American female
 1 Australian male
 1 Chinese male
 1 British male
 1 Dutch female

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To achieve this the researcher used the social communication tool “SKYPE” and conducted the interviews via webcam. The main responses from these interviews were noted by the researcher. This method meant that the questions asked could be open so as to allow the researcher to ask the opinions of the participants and identify follow-up questions. The interview times were set before hand by the participants to adjust for time zones. More so than with the qualitative study the data collected was again kept secure by the researcher and at no point is personal information disclosed in the document. This was coupled with the ability of the participant to leave or suspend the interview at any time and a relaxed informal friendly setting. These standards set in place by the researcher should have led to greater integrity of information received.
The survey included questions on the user’s opinions, habits and competencies with relation to the internet and its impact. The 9 questions asked were created to get the most relevant information possible out of each participants answer.
This method of interview may have caused a slight skew to results as all the individuals were SKYPE users and so may share similar patterns of behaviour or characteristics. The individual nature of the interview will also produce different results from one conducted by multiple interviewers Kuniavsky (2003).
3.4. Role of the researcher
As mentioned above the nature of the researcher both in the qualitative and quantitative surveys has played a big role. In the case of the quantitative data the questions posed were written in such a way as to be applicable to an international base of participants and so will be different to a survey targeting just British participants.
The researcher’s opinions in the case of the method of delivery i.e. digital for both the surveys has created a biased towards internet literate people. This was compounded by the qualitative survey as only users able to participate in a SKYPE interview were chosen. This was done, however. To specifically target those best suited to give relevant information on the internet as the research is to conclude factors that have contributed to internet proliferation and only consistent literate users are qualified to access and comment on the internet.

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A few questions are worded in ways that make assumptions by the researcher i.e. “Are you connected to broadband internet by your mobile phone or a mobile device you carry with you?” assumes the users have a mobile phone and that the participants understand what constitutes a broadband mobile device.
As mentioned above the researchers greatest biased is their tendency and heavy dependency on digital media and internet tools to complete their research. This method has completely excluded any data from non internet users and so cannot gauge their opinion on important issues.
3.5. Summary
Despite the above mentioned biased and negative sides to the researcher’s methods they were the most appropriate with relation to the information required for this particular research. The fact that all participants are internet literate means they have a greater understanding of the content available and the change that has occurred in recent years and so can make an informed decision.

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4.1 Introduction
This part of the dissertation will look at the results the point of view of the research objectives, questions that were asked in the surveys and responses given.
4.2 Quantitative survey
The quantitative survey that was undertaken included the all the following questions which have been discussed in detail below.
4.2.1. Basics
(Appendix B: B. i. & B. ii.) The basic questions of gender, Age, geographic location, income and education were all asked initially to establish the demographics of the participants. The data collected shows a roughly even distribution of males and females. The modal age range being 20-25 as this confirms what Kraut (2006) found about internet users being younger than non users.
There was a spread of users from around the world including 5 continents with the main participants being from north America and Europe. For income the data was spread fairly evenly when ignoring the mode i.e. Students. This is in line with the predicted spread of results as the majority of participants are friends of the researcher in similar circumstances.
4.2.2. Internet
(Appendix B: B. i. & B. ii.) The next questions were all concerned with internet use. Speed of internet was asked in the form of tick boxes from no internet to 30+ broadband. Followed by questions on how long the participant speeds connected to the internet and browsing the internet. As part of this the participant was asked about the amount of data they download a week. The participant is then asked if they have broadband on their mobile phone.
This establishes what percentages of participants have access to the varying speeds of internet and how this affects their browsing habits. The mobile phone broadband question was placed in the survey to compare to the answers from this to the answers from the question on connection to the internet to see if broadband phone users were aware that they are connected to the internet 24 hours a day

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The average internet speeds of users was roughly 10Mb with more users above than below this speed. The questions on hours spent on the internet in terms of browsing and connected show a roughly binomial distributed trend with the hours connected being slightly higher. Average hours of both connection and browsing from this question are between 5-10hours. On average participants downloaded less than 500mb. 58% of people use broadband enabled phones. Again all of these questions were to establish baselines and corroborate the findings discussed in the literature review.
4.2.3. Social Networking
(Appendix B: B. iii. & B. iv.) This section of the questionnaire is to access participants use of social networking sites the initial questions asked what sites people were a member of including Facebook, Twitter, Myspace, linked-in and Hi5. It then asks when the last time a participant logged into this account to establish frequency of use. The social networking study then focuses on mobile internet as an emerging trend by asking questions on mobile phone broadband use and comparing this to the use of mobile social networking.
The findings from this survey show that all of the users who took part have a Facebook profile with the vast majority (95.6%) of participants having logged into this account within the last 24h hours. 39.7% of people do not have a broadband enabled phone. This fits perfectly with the next question related to mobile SNS use where the same proportion of none broadband phone users had not used the mobile SNS service. This shows those with broadband phones are more likely to use mobile SNS sites.
4.2.4. Internet and social trends
(Appendix B: B. iii. & B. iv.) This section of the quantitative survey follows a multiple choice for each question style. The questions asked looked at the attitudes towards sharing personal information on SNS and amount of time spent socialising on SNS compared to face to face interactions. The questions then move on to what attracts a person to SNS and what they primarily use them for.

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The results show that on average the participants they were aware of the risks but were careful about the amount of information they share online. I surprising number of people (8%) felt that the information they share is safe. This is surprising low when considering the potential harm that can come from personal data on the internet. The next answers revealed that on average most people do between 20% and 40% of their socialising online as opposed to in face-face interactions and that mostly SNS were used for browsing what is happening with friends and family and occasionally commenting.
This data shows that the average user is clued in to the dangers of sharing too much information on the web and do not use SNS to excess and as a result probably don’t sacrifice their real life social interactions.
The next question in the social trends part of the questionnaire was an association exercise to see people first thoughts on social networking sites. The answers available were: Not needed, Nice to have, Important, Very Important, Can't live without. The topics covered included
 My personal freedom
 Security of my information
 A large number of friends
 Usability
 Ability to share my photo's
 Ability to share my thoughts and opinions
This part of the study shows that three most important factors for users are personal freedom, security of information and usability. This shows that despite the uniqueness of SNS these three internet wide themes are still the most important.

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(Appendix B: B. iii. & B. iv.) The next part focused on peoples opinion of statements to do with internet. The answers available were: I Disagree, Sometimes, Usually, Mostly and I Agree. The statements posed where as follows.
 The internet is safe
 The internet is easy
 The internet is fast
 The internet is reliable
 The internet has everything I need
 The internet is where I spend most of my time
 The internet has substituted a lot of the time I spent with my friends
 I would have more friends without the internet
The results of this study show that the participants think the internet is mostly easy, fast and has everything a person needs. The internet is usually reliable and safe, sometimes where the participants spend a lot of their time and rarely substitutes face – face interactions.
 The internet Is dangerous
 I would have less friends without the internet
 I would have more time without the internet
 I would have less time without the internet
 I would have more money without the internet
 I would have less money without the internet
 My life would be better without the internet
 My life would be worse without the internet
 I would be happier without the internet
 I Misuse the internet
 The internet is dangerous
The majority of the results in this section were concentrated in the I disagree column with outliers the largest of which is to do with having more time without the internet. This data shows that peoples’ opinions of the internet are usually not strong either way. It was worded in this way specifically to see which extremes people tend more towards. With people thinking they would have more time without the internet and have a worse life.

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4.3 Qualitative survey
(Appendix B: C. i. And C. ii.) This section of the survey a look at the internet and its proliferation from the point of view of multinational, computer literate, 20-25 year old college students. The survey was split into two parts. An initial questionnaire on the internet this was followed by some examples from the researcher of the abilities of the modern day internet and social networking specifically on mobile devices. The attitude after experimentation of the participant was then measured using a few questions based on the material covered by the researcher and then the question on the internet’s impact was reworded and asked again along with the participants opinion on the misuse of the internet.
What, in your opinion, has been the greatest change in the internet over the last 5 years
(Appendix B: C. i. And C. ii.) This question was used to gauge the participants’ knowledge of the internet and its current direction and strengths. Predominately (3 participants) answered speed to this question. How in just 5 years we have gone from YouTube streaming videos on only the fastest connections to full streaming movies and massive multi Gb downloadable files. The remaining 2 said mobile internet and how they have virtually the same abilities with their phones in terms of search and networking as they do on their phone.
This corroborates the information researched during the literature review for as Hjorth (2009) said “one of the most ubiquitous and pervasive technologies in everyday life, mobile media has a formidable capacity for commenting on both the social and creative dimensions of contemporary practice”. Literature on the increase in internet speeds is lacking and infact the only information the researcher could find on the increase in internet speeds are statistics (National Statistics, 2009. International Telecommunication Union, 2009). This is probably due to the fact that the increases in speeds have moved at such a fast pace that its true effect on society and internet use has not yet been fully documented or reviewed.

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How does the internet most affect your life, in terms of its biggest impact not time spent?
(Appendix B: C. i. And C. ii.) This question was for the participant to evaluate what aspect of the internet is most important to them. Not how the internet affects their lives as a whole. The answers to this questions were varied but the general underlying theme was content. O ne participant said the availability of media (being able to watch streaming videos, listen to streaming music and read blogs etc) Two participants said their ability to stay in touch with friends and be apart of their lives despite not living close. The final 2 participants said mobile information (including media, social and general quick access of information on the go).
This information is in line with the literature studied as it shows that despite the fact that content available is the same for everyone, people shape the impact that technology has on their lives Kraut (2006). This means that with effectively the same technology at their finger tips the participants of this study chose what content they want from the internet based on its relative use to them the availability of the content was not a factor.
What technological advances have affected you the most in terms of your relationship with the internet?
(Appendix C. i. And C. ii.) This question was to see if the participants’ were aware of the technology that has had the most effect on the internet. Again for this question the majority of participants (4) answers equated to speed with some (3) referencing speed of internet connections and some (1) mentioning improved technology leading to fast loading of websites through faster PCs. The remaining participant cited the improvement of mobile broadband as having the biggest effect.
This shows that the speed and availability of users preferred content has been the biggest driver for improvement again this is in line with the above mentioned statistics (National Statistics, 2009. International Telecommunication Union, 2009) these statistics show a clear increase in demand for speed and mobile broadband.

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What do you think is the best thing the internet has done/can do for you and society in the modern age?
(Appendix C. i. And C. ii.) This question was to see what the participants thought the biggest real benefit of the internet has been. The exclusive response to this question was access and freedom of information. The participants mentioned the availability of “real time” information especially that with social and educational benefits.
This is evidence to support what Czernich (2009) following statement “Broadband infrastructure allows the generation and distribution of decentralized information and ideas in markets increasingly relying on information as an input”. Although the majority of the information available now on the internet has been in ways been available for years the advances in the average internet speeds (National Statistics, 2009) mean the average user has access to almost all content as download speeds are no longer a factor.
Qualitative study of attitudes after experimentation
(Appendix B: C. i. And C. ii.) The next part of the qualitative survey was to give the participants information on some abilities of the internet specifically mobile web as this is where a large amount of cutting edge technology is being created for. This information is designed to alter the participants perception on aspects of the internet. Following this participants were then asked the following questions.
Were you aware of all of these functionalities? If no which were you not aware of?
(Appendix B: C. i. And C. ii.) This is to see the extent to which the sample users keep up to date with the modern abilities of mobile web as currently this is the cutting edge of widely distributed mobile applications. Of the 5 participants 2 were aware of all of this technology the remaining 3 were aware of some of this technology but not others. 1 was unaware of the Blackberry email and device capabilities. 2 were unaware of “Qik Live Video Streaming” and “FourSquare”
This question achieved the aim of seeing if the participants were fully aware of the technology as it stands. Also to make them aware that technology is always changing and improving

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Which of these, if any, do you think are good and why? Also which of these, if any, do you think are bad and why?
(Appendix B: C. i. And C. ii.) These questions were to see participant’s views on the technology and if perhaps the technology had moved too fast to consider the social and ethical implications it brings. The 5 participants thought that the Facebook applications are excellent and can lead to a new “revolution” in social networking. Also the Google maps application and “Qik Live” were said to make lives and sharing experiences easier respectively.
By contrast all participants thought that “FourSquare” could be a dangerous tool if not “used properly” participants thought that this took social networking and inter connectivity a step too far.
The “confidentiality” (Whitman, 2009) of the data stored by “foursquare” can be used for inappropriate means. The fact that the “FourSquare” website became famous and widely adopted quickly means that the possible security risks of such a software have not been fully appreciate.
The Facebook software however is the next simple organic step for the SNS giant. This tool allows over 100million of its 400million (Facebook, 2010). This new technology and application has allowed users to take their social networking mobile and incorporating important data such as birthdays into their existing technologies.
Do you think the Internet is misused at times? Why?
(Appendix C. i. And C. ii.) This question was asked in the attitudes after experimentation to see if the participants could associate the misuse with content providers and not just the users. 4 of the 5 participants mentioned illegal operations i.e. illegal downloads, hacking and identity theft. Only 1 participant suggest misuse by companies such as “FourSquare” and other companies that “think before they leap”
This is an interesting social and ethical consequence of the ever changing internet as there are increasingly more companies that sacrifices ethics and social responsibilities for headlines and profit. This is maybe due to the fact that technology is overtaking peoples understanding of the consequences of its use.

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What in your world would a perfect internet society include/exclude?
(Appendix B: C. i. And C. ii.) This question is reworded from an earlier question (What do you think is the best thing the internet has done/can do for you and society in the modern age) with an increased emphasis on possible future improvements. It was done as such to see if people thought we have reached the limit of potential for the internet. 1 of the 5 participants said the same freedom of information as now. With the remaining 4 including things such as greater speeds, availability with every human being connected and lower costs. The consensus was on exclusion with all 5 saying greater personal security and no viruses would be a “perfect” internet
This shows that the experimentation done by the researcher shifted the participants thoughts away from the status quo of the internet and on to its potential. The interconnectivity and proliferation of the internet seemed to be the main focus of the remaining participants with the negative factors being those that affect all users of the internet and create the biggest risks and pit falls.

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 Explore the technological and social factors that have led to the increase in internet based media and content
 Compare the abilities of current internet media and content with the average use of internet media and content
 Examine the social and ethical impact of internet proliferation
 Study the attitudes after experimentation of people after they have been made aware of the possibilities of new media and content.
The initial literature review and subsequent surveys and interviews have shown that the following factors have had and continue to have the greatest impact on the proliferation of the internet with regards to media and content.
5.1. Technological factors in proliferation
 Increased availability, speed and decreased cost. The need of ISP to focus elsewhere to maintain profits and competitive edge combined with increase in speed, technology and cost have led to increased broadband connections and speed of these connections among users as a faster speed is generally favoured.
 Standardisation and setting of minimum standards though government targets and intervention has put an increased focus on “getting people connected”
 The rise of mobile internet including new mobile SNS applications, the new content targeted to these devices, the increase in broadband capable phones and the associated increase of price for broadband capable devices. Also the introduction of fixed rate and attractive pricing to mobile internet and the ease of local access combined with introduction of new opportunity.
 Diversity of devices capable of accessing the internet and the independent technological advances related to these devices.
 The birth of the mobile application. Targeted mobile broadband applications allowing instant access to their favourite content and a streamlined portal to the internet.

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5.2. Social Factors in proliferation
 The ability to be socially connected in a variety of different ways. From sharing a user’s own view to chatting on the internet to a friend on mobile broadband from your own mobile broadband .
 Proliferation a global event and spans all ethnic, language and cultural boundaries.
 Negative factors such as spam, identity theft etc specifically the awareness of peoples vulnerability that has become a factor guiding internet use in recent years.
 Increase in the internet generation as the growing population are now increasingly internet literate and quite discerning with the content they view.
 People are having an increased percentage of social interactions online
 Increase in use of SNS as an everyday part of peoples surfing experience and often a driving/guiding force in peoples surfing experience.
 Blogging and twitter. People wish to share their thoughts and feelings with the masses either anonymously through blogging or openly through twitter.
 Increase in fashion and trend associated with broadband capable devices creating a larger demand.
 The internet is still viewed by the majority as a positive, safe thing and is regarded as having a positive impact on people’s lives.
5.3. Abilities of the internet compared to use
Although the majority of people (58%) have a broadband enable phone the qualitative survey showed a majority of them were unaware of the full extent of possibilities and dangers associated with internet use whether mobile or fixed. It was also shown that some companies that exploited the full extent of the internet abilities usually venture into unmapped terrain resulting in either ground breaking advances through such things as reinvention of the existing method of delivery/interaction (Facebook) or in the case of “FourSquare” engage in morally questionable activities. The unknown impact of sharing data and being fully immersed in the virtual world seem to be the biggest constraint when comparing the abilities with the use from both a provider and user perspective.

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5.4. Social and ethical impact
The research has shown that the social and ethical impact of internet proliferation can be both positive and negative. The positive side of this proliferation can be shown by the increase in the availability of content, whether this is media or information. In the opinion of the majority of users (53.2%) they would have fewer friends without the internet. This is combined with 53.2% of users doing 40% or more of their socialising online. This shows a fundamental “shift in mechanism” for socialising. As mentioned above the internet is still viewed as a good thing with the majority of people 80.6% agreeing that the internet is safe to some extent with only 16.1% that think the internet doesn’t have everything a user needs.
5.5. Attitudes after experimentation
It was shown in the research that after people had been made aware of a few positive and negative advances in internet based content they were still worried about the same fundamental problems issues. These main issues are hackers, identity theft and general safety of information. It was also clear that as the users were made aware of the possibilities of the internet that they started considering the internet and its potential as a whole and not just with relation to themselves.
5.6. Conclusion
On the whole it can be shown that the proliferation of the internet as a whole is brought about by technological change driven by the needs, wants and expectations of its users. The use of the internet with regards to its full potential is driven more by the needs of individual users than the available content, with the later being a guide for user’s expectations rather than the medium of delivery. The social impact of proliferation can be shown by the clear trend towards a proportional “virtual socialising” element in people’s lives with every person interviewed conducting at least 20% of their socialising online but can lead to negative experiences with some users and providers embracing technology and content before its social and ethical impact can be understood. Finally when users begin to consider the internet with regards to potential, current reach and connectivity they start to consider their interactions with it as an ever expanding, all encompassing entity and not just for their own narrow, personalised internet world.

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5.7. Evaluation
The main focus of this dissertation was to answer the above questions. This research largely achieved these aims. The lack of background material pertaining to the proliferation of the internet has meant that the researcher was required to make many unreferenced evaluations based on a variety of primary and secondary research. This is also an advantage as old information on this subject would be outdated and could lead the researcher away from the ever changing status quo of this research.
As the social and ethical implications of proliferation are objective this study focuses on it from the perspective of the largest usage the 20-25 year old educated perspective to give the most relevant and informed conclusion.

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ii
Contents.
A. i. Facebook group screenshot
A. ii. Troubleshoot screen capture.
B. i. Quantitative Survey 1 screenshot
B. ii. Quantitative Survey 1 Results
B. iii. Quantitative Survey 2 Screenshot
B. iv. Quantitative Survey 2 Results
C. i. Example of Qualitative survey
C. ii. Qualitative survey results

vi
B. ii.
Gender
Age
tick the box that best describes your internet connection

vii
tick the box that best describes your geographical location
Tick which box best describes your income
tick which box best describes your current education

viii
On average how many HOURS a day do you spend connected to the internet (this includes mobile internet)?
How many HOURS a day do you spend actively browsing the internet or using content that requires an internet connection?
On average how much data do you download a week?

ix
Are you connected to broadband internet by your mobile phone or a mobile device you carry with you?
B. iii.

xi
B. iv.
Which of the following sites do you have a profile for?
When was the last time you logged into this account?

xii
Which of the following devices do you own?
Have you used a mobile application to connect to Facebook or Twitter in the last month?
Which of the following best describes your attitude to sharing personal information on Social Networking sites (Facebook, Twitter etc)

xiii
How much of your socialising is done on social networking sites as opposed to face to face interactions.
which of these best describes what you do on social networking sites?
Which of these factors do you think are the most important factors on social networking sites?

xiv
In this section please tick the first box that comes to mind
In this section please tick the first box that comes to mind

Proliferation of Online content - Contributary factors and implications

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