so what is the web? maybe we should start with what the web is not  because many  people often mistake the web for Internet
so the web is not the Internet The Internet is a set of standards and technologies that enable us to connect computers with each other and connect networks
it can be seen as a road network on which different kinds of services goods people and  vehicles pass through the network
since there are different kinds of goods also on the Internet there will be different kinds of applications
the web is one of the applications that is going to pass through that network but there are others like emails telephoning and  the Internet is the third example so be sure to differentiate between that  framework of connected networks that is the Internet and one of the applications on top of that framework that is the web
the web was first developed as an application designed to share information that was at the end of the 80s beginning of the 90s at CERN
the idea is to link documents and to be able to access them if they're not stored on the same computer at first it was for scientists and then it quickly became accessible to the public and the web became the World Wide Web
the web  itself is a bit ambiguous because it is both the standards that enable to create that object and the object emerging from it
the worldwide web we all use every day  has two sides from the beginning  there's a documentary site that will enable us to link documents stored on several computers but there is also the idea that several people will contribute to several documents on several servers
so there is a documentary site and a social side from the start because it allows certain interactions between contributors at first the web was accessible in writing mode but few used that mode because most of the first web servers were accessed in reading mode
after that, it was not before the mid-90s and the reopening of the web and writing mode with wiki's that everyone could enjoy the possibility of contributing it is at that moment that the web became social with all the social applications we know today on the web
social networks have many different forms but a social network such as we hear about today in newspapers can be defined as an application that uses science end information technologies such as the web internet and mobiles to connect people that's what they all have in common. then all these applications differ from one another in the way they are used
for example, it can be linking CVs together like LinkedIn . or exchanging more or less serious messages  like Facebook, they will vary because of the type of links in the network
for example is it a friends network ? is it a professional network or is it  a network based on common interests ?
they will also differ with regards to the means of access is it accessed through the web or is it accessed with a mobile
they will differ in regards to the contents that are shared for example is it a video sharing Network or is it a short message sharing network. all those aspects will differentiate  the various social network application
let's talk about a slightly more specific notion called  social media in other words if a social network is able to produce and exchange content its called social media  for example  YouTube is a social media application
we can also distinguish explicit social networks which means a network that actually shows the different kinds of links that people have with each other and actively reports those links
for example, when i am on  LinkedIn I will report the links I have with another person then there are implicit social networks because they are weighed up according to their user's activity
in science, we have social applications such as ResearchGate that allows scientists to post and preserve their bibliography and all the articles they wrote.  through that activity and by identifying the co-authors we are able to deduce there is an implicit social network with that activity
another differentiation that can be made between those applications is are they mainly related to the web or  mainly related to other platforms. for example, Tumblr application was born it has permanently taken root on the web whereas applications like what's up or snapchat were born and are mainly used through mobile networks
so in conclusion we could say that all in all there is both a shared idea which is that there are applications using new information technologies to connect people and to create bonds between them. there are lots of differences between applications regarding their usage, the type of content and the kind of links they allow to create
actually social networks did not wait for either the internet or even computing to exist. the idea of a social network has existed for a very long time. the idea of social structure is important having a network is a well-known expression and in sociological studies too. these structures have been studied for a long time let's not make a fuss about this. even looking back on the beginning with computer science that was even before internet bulletin boards and  BBS system actually started being used before the internet the 70s
then there are applications like Usenet or newsgroups that will await complete deployment to be used. then there are also mails with milling lists there are ir seas for a synchronized chat so a rather synchronized communication  so forums, chat rooms and  talk rooms begin very early in Computer Sciences
what happened after that is not only the Internet's deployment but mostly the web's deployment. the web's deployment brought a turnaround in the 90s because it generalized the access to the Internet.  technophiles aren't the only ones accessing that space now which transformed the web to became social
so what we have around us is not a library anymore but it's a place where anyone can contribute by righting so it's both for the general and the public with open writing mode  so it's a place where social applications can be developed it was rather simple at first like with six degrees or classroom to simply identify your former classmates  and then slow and steady applications like wikis forums blogs will enable contributions and so social medias