Internet

The payment card business has evolved from its inception in the 1950s as a way to handle payment for expense-account lunches (the Diners Club card) into today's complex, sprawling industry that drives trillions of dollars in transaction volume each year. Paying with Plastic is the definitive source on an industry that has revolutionized the way we borrow and spend. More than a history book, Paying with Plastic delivers an entertaining discussion of the impact of an industry that epitomizes the notion of two-sided markets: those in which two or more customer groups receive...

Is the Internet a vast arena of unrestricted communication and freely exchanged information or a regulated, highly structured virtual bureaucracy? In Protocol, Alexander Galloway argues that the founding principle of the Net is control, not freedom, and that the controlling power lies in the technical protocols that make network connections (and disconnections) possible. He does this by treating the computer as a textual medium that is based on a technological language, code. Code, he argues, can be subject to the same kind of cultural and literary analysis as any natural language;...

Just as education has promoted democracy and economic growth, the Internet has the potential to benefit society as a whole. Digital citizenship, or the ability to participate in society online, promotes social inclusion. But statistics show that significant segments of the population are still excluded from digital citizenship. The authors of this book define digital citizens as those who are online daily. By focusing on frequent use, they reconceptualize debates about the digital divide to include both the means and the skills to participate online. They offer new evidence (drawn from...

Howard Rheingold has been called the First Citizen of the Internet. In this book he tours the "virtual community" of online networking. He describes a community that is as real and as much a mixed bag as any physical community -- one where people talk, argue, seek information, organize politically, fall in love, and dupe others. At the same time that he tells moving stories about people who have received online emotional support during devastating illnesses, he acknowledges a darker side to people's behavior in cyberspace. Indeed, contends Rheingold, people relate to each other online much...

It is a common belief that the Internet can provide real opportunities for political transformation, especially in societies where freedom of speech is constrained by the government. This volume explores the Internet's political and developmental impact by analyzing it at the local, regional, and international levels. The essays combine to show that limited Internet accessibility in some countries has led to a problematic digital divide.

Entry subjects range from the two giants of Asia, China and India, to the microstates in the Pacific. Each incisive essay takes a fresh look...

Blogs--or weblogs--are a huge phenomenon on the internet. From ultra-personal diary entries to specialized information on a wide variety of subjects (teen ranting to presidential campaigns), blogs are the new way to create a virtual community that can effect real-world change. It's not hard to set up a blog, but it can be difficult adjusting to life in the "Blogosphere."
One of the first blogging experts, who helped found the weblog community Xanga, Biz Stone will help readers:
--learn the origins of blogging
--discover why blogging is so popular
--explore the ettiquette of...

In Rule the Web, you'll learn how to:

* Browse recklessly, free from viruses, ads, and spyware

* Turn your browser into a secure and powerful anywhere office

* Raze your old home page and build a modern Web masterpiece

* Get the news so fast it'll leave skidmarks on your inbox

* Fire your broker and let the Internet make you rich

* Claim your fifteen megabytes of fame with a blog or podcast

You use the Web to shop, do your banking, have fun, find facts, connect with family, share your thoughts with the world, and more. But aren't you...