Virtual Revolution - Notes

4 part BBC series
Aired in 2010

Sir Tim Berners Lee
- Founder of the world wide web
- Takes no financial credit for founding the internet.
- Took part in the Olympic games opening ceremony.
- Knighted in 2004 by the queen
- Was given an honorary doctorate of science degree from Harvard University.

At any 1 given time there are 2,000,000,000 people online at the same time. About 1/3 of the planet
Some people use the internet to challenge authorises but some governments use it to spy on their people.

Bill Gates: "The internet is how people communicate"
Bill Gates
- Founder of Microsoft, the worlds largest computer software manufacturer.
- Worlds wealthiest person from 1995 - 2009.
- Dropped out of Harvard University.
- One of the main contributors as to where the internet is today.
- Created internet explorer, one of the first internet browsers

Internet creates a digitial divide. The digital haves/have nots.
So the people that dont use the internet are left out whilst the other people who dont have internet are left out.

Al Gore former US vice President described the internet as an "empowering tool" and as "exciting and revolutionary".

1/4 of the planet use the internet regularly.

35 million at any time on the British Isles
£1,000,000,000 a week online in the UK alone.
5Million people join dating websites a month
18 million blogs in the UK
40% of men admit to watching online porn
87% of UK internet users use YouTube
28% of UK internet users have access to super fast broadband ( 8+ MB per minute)
46% have access to speeds between 2MB and 8MB
94% of homes in the UK have broadband penetration at home.

The UK internet economy is expected to grow 10% per annum to £174billion or as much as £228billion.
The UK internet economy is worth £100billion, 7.2% of UK GDP.
1 in 5 UK internet users uses the internet to either sell a good or service and make it a business.