Can the Internet handle large user requests? Can the Internet become the definitive medium for news and communication? Two Cnet bloggers took on the topic in a recent debate and the ideas they present are very interesting.
With the death of Micheal Jackson the Internet saw a huge surge in demand. Many users where requesting site downloads and some websites where unavailable for an extended period of time (about half an hour). Now this can be perceived as an unacceptable length of time or a small blip in life. I tend toward the second camp.
Both editors bring up valid and interesting points. The one that stuck out the most to me though dealt was with the fact that more and more people will be coming online stressing the Internet further. I don't have a great understanding of how the Internet works but I have formed a rough idea. Without giving a large lesson on the topic I will say this. Instead of stressing the Internet to the point of breaking, as is often suggested, these new users will generate more demand for expansion of the costly hardware used to host the Internet.
To sum up, I believe that the Internet will become the definitive platform for communication. News, entertainment, social networking, shopping, information sharing, etc. will all be based on the Internet. This will not happen overnight, of course, but I do believe this is an eventuality. As more and more people come online the demand will drive development of the hardware supporting the Internet. I suggest reading the debate by the Cnet editors, its a fun article.
Cnet Debate
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