Websites, the main component of the internet, have radically changed the way our lives are lead today. Many websites have made our life easier and a lot simpler, but some have actually revolutionized the concept of social life.
The concept of the 'World Wide Web' (www) was launched in 1990 by the physicist, Tim Berners-Lee, and since 1993, it was made available to all common users. Today, websites that changed the Internet world have also had a great impact on our lifestyle.
We use computers as easily as telephones. More and more people are using the internet for various reasons. Out of uncountable websites that are created in the World Wide Web, certain websites have changed the Internet world. That certain websites that changed the Internet world include social networking sites or community sites like 'Orkut' and 'Facebook', microblogging sites like 'Twitter', information sites like 'Wikipedia' and other sites like 'eBay', 'YouTube', 'Amazon.com', etc.
Social Networking Sites
Facebook: originally introduced as a site to connect the students of Harvard university but soon its rise led to the decline of several other social networking sites like Friendster and MySpace. In the computer world, 'Friendster' is recognized as the 'granddaddy of social networks'. Today, Facebook is the most popular website in the world.
Twitter: a microblogging service, through which you can read and send posts of up to 140 characters. The posts are text-based and are known as 'tweets'. The concept of sharing thoughts and views has now gained tremendous popularity all over the world. The subscribers are known as 'followers' and they can follow (subscribe to) other users' tweets.
Information Sites
Wikipedia: a free, user-generated multilingual encyclopedia containing over 20 million articles of a modern style encyclopedia.
Answers.com: where people can discuss various topics, government sites, which support tourism or provide information on food and drugs, medicines, etc.
Mailing and Communication Sites
Hotmail: initially launched as 'HoTMaiL', keeping in mind the 'HTML'. It can be called 'the pioneer of web-based email services'. It was presented by Microsoft as a part of Windows applications. It is now available in 36 different languages.
Gmail: offers 1 GB storage capacity per user. Gmail is an email service provided by Google. It is an advertising-supported service, so you may see relevant advertisements on your page and it is available in 40 languages.
Video Sharing Sites
YouTube: gained tremendous popularity as one can upload, view and share videos. It is currently a subsidiary of Google.
Auction and Shopping Websites
eBay: has revolutionized the way we shop. It is a premier auction site where you can bid on items and win almost anything almost anything.
Amazon.com: one of the most visited e-commerce sites today. You may call it 'the world's largest online retailer'. Initially, it was an online bookstore, but now, it sells several other items.
Search Engines
Google: is the internet's most visited website today. It is the fastest and most relevant search engine. It is also well-known for its other services and products like Google Talk, Google Earth, Google Images, Picasa photo organization and editing software, etc.
Yahoo!: is another popular search engine. For some, it is a favorite games/shopping center; while for some, it is the most preferred e-mailbox or news provider. Yahoo! services like 'Yahoo! Maps', 'Yahoo! Finance', 'Yahoo! Groups' and 'Yahoo! Messenger' have gained popularity in all corners of the world.
News Sites
CNN.com: was founded in 1980 by Ted Turner; but the channel went online in 1995. CNN.com is known for the latest breaking news.