The Internet is a large phenomenon. Being widespread and always ”under construction” it’s hard to find a natural definition of the concept. And to understand really and truly how, why and for what purposes we use the Internet. That is probably why new books about the Internet constantly are being written and why different authors always find the Internet to be an interesting subject to research and marvel about.

Being a media-student I always have to be ”on top of things”, knowing everything that happens on "the outside". Usually I have to read tons of literature about ”the Internet”. The book ”The Internet and the Mass Media” by Lucy Küng, Robert G Picard and Ruth Towse is “just another book about the Internet”, but it’s a book that really summarizes and shows the impact that the Internet has on today’s society.

“The Internet and the Mass Media” is a book that shows how the world has adapted itself around the Internet. Every single chapter shows different aspects of our lives, as for example media technology, platforms, innovations, media content etc, and how these aspects interlace with the Internet. In some cases the Internet gets influenced by traditional media, taking what the traditional media always has done and just simply putting it in a new “distribution channel”. In other cases the Internet has totally disrupted what once was and made up new ways or created more confused and hard to interpret paths, for example the copyright law. Having been published on the Internet most people find it to be a general right to download and store it on their computers while the copyright may go straight through the window.

I found a couple of chapters in the book to be more interesting than others. For example chapter 4 really caught my attention, “The impact of the Internet on media content”. It explains how the Internet has initiated a huge increase in the accessibility of content. In today’s world we all can reach all kind of information without never needing to leave our home. However, the Internet has not really launched any new formats or contents. What is represented in the “old media” is also represented on the Internet, becoming “new media”. But the “new media” has not really got something that is genuinely its own. Even simple things as personal web logs, “bloggs”, are not something new or groundbreaking. The concept of the diary has always been there, it has simply got a little bit more digitalized with the Internet. But the Internet really cuts down the costs and works as an effective distribution channel. The Internet reduces the cost of reproduction and distribution leaving the cost of the content production alone. Ultimately, by once publishing the content on the Internet everyone gets access to it.

The impacts of the Internety on its users has also cught my attention (chapter 5). An Internet user is someone who actively searches the net for information trying to satisfy his or her needs, and who is really engaged with the phenomenon. The most interesting thing is the fact that no two Internet experiences are the same. Each individual Internet user uses the Internet differently, to those purposes that he or she has. Today the majority of people in developed countries use the Internet on daily bases, and most of these users are younger, adapting the concept from early years, which they will probably have throughout their lives. This might raise the question of Internet “pushing” older and more traditional media out from everyday life. However, it seems now that people spend MORE time with the media than they did in old times. It makes not not less time for traditional media, but rather more time for media in general.

Reading the book I suddenly began feel sorry for realizing these things a bit too late. I wish I would have read about it in the beginning of my education. I think that the subject of Internet would then have been less confusing and more comprehensive. Therefore I really recommend “The Internet and the Mass Media” to other people, who care about media-industry and the Internet.

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