Internet and Social Networking in Malaysia (ACM1083)

Communication Technology ACM1083 ‫ﺑﺳم ﷲ اﻟرﺣﻣن اﻟرﺣﯾم‬ ‫‪2‬‬ THE INTERNET & SOCIAL NETWORKING 3 THE HISTORY & DEVELOPMENT OF THE INTERNET 4  INTRODUCTION The history and development of the internet is a fa...

Communication Technology ACM1083 ‫ﺑﺳم ﷲ اﻟرﺣﻣن اﻟرﺣﯾم‬ ‫‪2‬‬ THE INTERNET & SOCIAL NETWORKING 3 THE HISTORY & DEVELOPMENT OF THE INTERNET 4  INTRODUCTION The history and development of the internet is a fascinating journey that spans several decades and involves numerous technological advancements and cultural shifts. It has become a social force, changing the way corporations operate and the way they interact with their customers; and it has become a legal force, compelling re-examination and reinterpretation of the law. The Internet has become an indispensable tool for commerce, communication, and leisure. 5  Historically, in the 1950s, (aftermath a nuclear attack) the US Department of Defense started researching ways to centralize communications between government officials and researchers. A computer network – most logical way. They started to form the Advanced Research Project Agency (ARPA) to study ways to connect networks. ARPA sought to create a combination of local area networks (LANs) and wide area networks (WANs) that would be called an “internetwork”. ARPA engineers later shortened the term to “Internet”. 6  Each computer on the Internet has unique Internet protocol (IP) address that allows other computers on the Internet to locate it. The IP address – series of numbers separated by periods. (e.g: 129.1.2.169 is an IP address for the computer at Bowling Green State University that contains faculty and student web pages). An alternate addressing method – domain name system (DNS). DNS assigns text-based names to the numerical IP addresses. E.g: estaff.usim.edu.my 7  Several communications applications developed before the rise of the graphical-based World Wide Web. Some have been replaced by graphical-based applications while some other have been enhanced by the availability of graphical components. E.g: e-mails, newsgroups, chat, telnet and file transfer protocol (FTP). 8  The world wide web (www) was the brainchild of Tim Berners-Lee. He devised a computer language, hypertext markup language (HTML) that allow users to explore information on the web. www documents are accessed using a browser. The user simply tells the browser the address of the information needed using a uniform resource locater (URL) which is based on domain names. E.g: www.usim.edu.my The advent of the World Wide Web was nothing less than a revolution while the Internet has become an integral part of existing economic, legal, and social structures. 9 THE HISTORY & DEVELOPMENT OF THE INTERNET IN MALAYSIA 10  THE HISTORY Malaysia (with a population of more that 33.7 million), has an internet penetration of more than 95 percent in 2023, one of the highest in Southeast Asia. The history of internet in Malaysia began in 1983 when the first Malaysia netizen, Dr Mohamed Awang Lah who initiated the idea of connecting Malaysia virtually with the outside world in a lab at the University of Malaya. 11  In 1989, Dr Mohamed Awang Lah (he was an academician in the Faculty of Electrical/Electronics, University of Malaya and later appointed to lead Malaysia Institute of Microelectronic Systems or MIMOS) established Rangkaian Komputer Malaysia (RangKom) with local universities as the first users of internet coordinated by RangKom with the initial focus on emails and electronic chats. 12 THE DEVELOPMENT OF INTERNET IN MALAYSIA Malaysia’s Internet initiative and development began in 1985 with the establishment of Malaysian Institute of Microelectronic Systems (MIMOS) and the subsequent launching of Joint Advanced Integrated Networking (JARING) in 1990 as the main Internet Service Provider. 13  In 1992 a satellite installed to link Malaysia and the USA and JARING was fully connected to the Internet, henceforth providing Malaysian users with access to Internet resources in more than 140 countries. 14  However, the year 1995 was considered the beginning of the Internet age in Malaysia. The growth in the number of Internet hosts in Malaysia began around 1996, when the government seriously engaged in ICT development and opened the telecommunication market to three additional companies. The country's first search engine and web portal company was also founded that year. 15 THE DEVELOPMENT OF INTERNET IN MALAYSIA The first search engine and web portal company, Cari Internet, was also founded that year. From the first Malaysian Internet survey conducted from October to November 1995 by MIMOS and Beta Interactive Services, only one out of every thousand Malaysians had access to the Internet back then (20,000 Internet users out of a population of 20 million). 16 THE DEVELOPMENT OF INTERNET IN MALAYSIA This number grew to 2.6% of the population in 1998. The total number of computer units sold was 467,000 in 1998 and 701,000 in 2000 indicated an increasing growth. 17 THE DEVELOPMENT OF INTERNET IN MALAYSIA In order to fulfil the increased demand of internet use among Malaysians and to give the best service, on November 1st 1996, Telekom Malaysia Berhad began the service as the second Internet Service Provider (ISP) after Jaring in Malaysia via TMNet. 18 THE DEVELOPMENT OF INTERNET IN MALAYSIA By end of 2000, more companies were granted a license to provide internet service in Malaysia. Among the pioneers are Maxis Communication Berhad, DiGi Telecommunications Sdn Bhd and Time dotcom Berhad. 19 THE DEVELOPMENT OF INTERNET IN MALAYSIA As of 2004, Malaysia had less than one percent broadband penetration, compared to 40 percent in Singapore and 60 percent in South Korea. In July 2004, the government announced that it was going to invest RM210 million in broadband facilities such as communication towers and wireless transmitters to expand the service into rural areas and roll out faster access to the Internet. 20 THE DEVELOPMENT OF INTERNET IN MALAYSIA The National Public Policy Workshop (NPPW) in 2005 proposed tremendous changes towards a strategy to move forward the uptake of ICT and internet in Malaysia. Among the outcomes of the NPPW is the High Speed Broadband initiative which was launched in 2010. 21 THE DEVELOPMENT OF INTERNET IN MALAYSIA The introduction of broadband further sealed the Internet as an important component of Malaysian life. Better and faster Internet access has facilitated the boom in e-commerce and online businesses. It has also allowed Malaysians to extract more from the Internet, especially in the form of faster streaming of media content. Hence, Malaysians have become more reliant on the Internet for everyday activities such as the daily news, paying bills, or simply catching up with family and friends. 22 THE DEVELOPMENT OF INTERNET IN MALAYSIA As of July 2012 internet users in Malaysia reached 25.3 million. Out of that number, there were 5 million broadband users, 2.5 million wireless broadband users, and 10 million 3G subscribers. With access to the Internet largely achieved, the next step would be to maximize the use of the Internet in achieving digital inclusion and gaining cultural capital. 23 THE DEVELOPMENT OF INTERNET IN MALAYSIA Internet penetration in Malaysia is still very much an urban experience. In 2014, Government statistics compiled by Malaysian Communication and Multimedia Commission indicated that the highest internet penetration was in the Klang Valley area, which places the nation's capital, Kuala Lumpur, at 80%, followed by the most developed state in Malaysia, that is, Selangor (70%), and at the administrative capital, Putrajaya (60%). 24 THE DEVELOPMENT OF INTERNET IN MALAYSIA Internet penetration is still relatively low in other less populated states such as Sabah and Sarawak, situated in east Malaysia where most residents belong to indigenous groups. 25 THE DEVELOPMENT OF INTERNET IN MALAYSIA As at the end of 2012, almost 19 million Malaysians were online. This accounted for 66% of the Malaysian population. For most part, the Malaysian Government has been very serious in its attempt to make Malaysia a regional and global player in information technology (IT). Public schools have been equipped with computer labs, tax exemptions have been given for the purchases of laptops and Internet connections, and a multimedia university was built to create Internet-savvy graduates. 26 THE DEVELOPMENT OF INTERNET IN MALAYSIA Public and private institutions have been expected to incorporate IT technologies in their operations. The government launched its own IT policy whereby all government offices must be online and paper-less by 2015. 27 28 29 30 31 32 PENETRATION OF INTERNET IN MALAYSIA Recent Internet Penetration Statistics. Source: Statista 33  ACCESS OF INTERNET IN MALAYSIA https://www.mcmc.gov.my/skmmgov my/media/General/pdf/IUS-2020- Infographic.pdf (Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission, 2020) 34  ACCESS OF INTERNET IN MALAYSIA (2021) https://www.mcmc.gov.my/skmmgovmy/m edia/General/pdf/Q1-2021-C-M.pdf Source: (Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission, 2021)  ACCESS OF INTERNET IN MALAYSIA (2022) https://www.mcmc.gov.my/skmmgovmy/m edia/General/IUS-2022.pdf Source: (Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission, 2022) SOCIAL NETWORKING AND WEB 2.0 37  SOCIAL NETWORKING & WEB 2.0 The emergence of social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube in the mid-2000s ushered in the era of Web 2.0, characterized by user-generated content, interactivity, and collaboration. This shift in internet usage patterns has had profound implications for media, advertising, and society as a whole. Web 2.0 marked a shift from static, one-way communication to dynamic, interactive platforms where users could create, share, and collaborate on content. Social media platforms such as FB, Ig, X, TikTok, and YouTube empowered users to generate their own content, ranging from status updates and tweets to videos and blog posts. 38  Web 2.0 platforms emphasize user engagement through features like likes, comments, shares, and retweets. This fostered online communities around shared interests, hobbies, and identities, enabling users to connect with like-minded individuals and participate in online discussions and debates. The rise of social media has had far-reaching implications for media consumption, advertising, and public discourse. It has disrupted traditional media models, enabling citizen journalism and amplifying diverse voices and perspectives. However, it has also raised concerns about filter bubbles, echo chambers, and spreading misinformation and polarizing content. 39 GROUP BRAINSTORMING ACTIVITY 40 Every group is required to brainstorm on the following topic: The Challenges and Concerns of the Internet and Social Networking Tips: you can discuss covering issues related to privacy and security, the digital divide, misinformation, and online harms (cybersecurity) 41 ‫وآﺧر دﻋواﻧﺎ أن اﻟﺣﻣد ‪ 0‬رب اﻟﻌﺎﻟﻣﯾن‬ ‫‪www.usim.edu.my‬‬