From “Web Site” to “Online Presence”; From “Internet” to “Information Society”

Abstract

Anyone who has read a newspaper in the last two years knows that the Internet is growing at a phenomenal rate.

Most businesses have Internet connections, there are a growing number of home users of the Internet, and governments around the globe are getting online — and developing information economy strategies to harness the emerging global information infrastructure.

The consensus is that the Internet will have a tremendous impact on how business will be done in the future. Analyses of the Internet legislative, policy, standards, commerce and security contexts suggest that most business sectors will be radically affected. Currently, publishing, finance, entertainment, information and education are changing rapidly because of the Internet, and some predictions suggest that by the end of 2000 billions of dollars of financial assets will be managed via the Internet.