Where Is Cyberspace?

(The following article was published on Circle ID. Click here to read/comment on Circle ID.)

Where Is Cyberspace?

In my first CircleID post, I compared the cyberspace to a farmland, which has to be cultivated and developed. I ended by asking: Where is cyberspace?

I have asked this same question from many people, many of whom are internet experts. They all said the cyberspace is in the computers, networks, or servers, or the Internet itself. I agree with these cyberspace ideas. In addition, my opinion is a bit different. For me, cyberspace is within the browsers. Sure, it is also outside the browsers and everywhere, but the greater part of the cyberspace is in the browsers.

I'm saying the greater part of the cyberspace is in the browsers because this is where e-commerce is active. People shop for everything and visit media sites in the browsers. Company websites and SNS are in the browsers, too.

Have you ever heard of the "browser wars?" Read about it on Forbes.com and Economist.com.

What do you think is the cause of this browser war? The browser is a free software, but why do the media call it browser war? What do you think? It is interesting, isn't it?

Now, consider this. In cyberspace, if there is no proper legal system, it is possible for browser company policies to work like the constitution in cyberspace. Then, there will be unfair mechanisms in the internet.

We have to consider the user's rights. Why do the browsers interrupt the customer-to-company connection? When users type exactly a brand name or company name in the internet address bar, they should have direct connection. But for smartphone users, they are always connected to a portal. As a result, they pay extra data charges.

If a user already knows the company name or brand name, then he/she should be able to connect directly to the company without going to the portal. Cause that user is obviously a customer of the company or brand name owner. Governments have to regulate it — for the user's rights and company and brand owners' rights — by Trademark Law and Fair Trade Commission, and Telecommunications Business Act, etc. in each country.

And so I asked in my first CircleID article, "Whose Customers Are Those Typing Brand Names in the Browser's Address Bar?"

In that article, I emphasized that we have to help the SMEs and prevent customer hijacking in the Internet address bar. Perhaps I should just start calling it the Internet entrance bar.

Further, the entrance to the cyberspace is the internet address bar. This is where we connect directly to a company like dialling a telephone number. I would like to encourage everyone to watch the story of Almon Strowger here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=efUmnuDdlhQ

There are so many research centers all over the world. I want to suggest to everyone to research and look for clues about the problem in the 21st century economy.

Surprisingly, the browser war is actually a customer hijacking war in the entrance of the cyberspace.

The majority of the victims are the users and the SMEs. And the news and media companies.

The users are charged extra for mobile data cost. The SMEs lose their customers in the entrance of the internet. So, they have to advertise in the portal to get back their customers. They do this repeatedly, and spend a lot of extra money.

Does the cyberspace have extraterritorial rights in each country? The internet entrance bar is not an embassy. It is within the domestic law. So governments must protect the customers, cause the workplaces are fundamentally created by customers.

We have to know what is going on. Governments must not ignore the distorted structure in the cyberspace. We know already where is the cyberspace. Cyberspace is within the browsers. Browsers are within each country's law.

I discussed this topic with a browser company's staff. Their answer is so interesting. They said, there is no institution that takes care of this issue. There is no legal system or regulation that prevents browsers from ruling the cyberspace.

Naturally, this means browsers will follow the legal system, if there are proper regulations on the cyberspace, with regards to the internet address bar.

Once again, I welcome comments about this topic.

Where Is The Cyberspace (Part 2)

Background:

Where Is The Cyberspace? (Part 1)


We call the present era the Internet Age. This advancement seemed promising! Yet today, the small and medium enterprises are finding themselves in financial trouble. Highly developed countries are definitely affected by this situation among the SMEs. 

What could we infer from this situation? Could SMEs in developed countries possibly be suffering from digital divide?  Could there be a brewing financial crisis in very big economies? If so, we need to study and reevaluate the current structure of the Internet ecosystem. So I am compelled to ask everyone: Where is the cyberspace?

Cyberspace Awareness, Its Relevance to the Digital Divide, and Its Effect on the SMEs

So many government leaders and SMEs, who have access to high speed internet 24 hours a day/7 days a week, do not know where cyberspace is. Even Internet leaders do not know where it is exactly. This is one form of digital divide. The root cause of digital divide is not limited to having no Internet access. Digital divide also develops when those who have Internet access are not fully aware about something as important as the location of cyberspace. 

This is something that internet leaders should not ignore: To bridge the digital divide, there should be sufficient awareness on something that plays a big role in the new economy.

SMEs, which provide about 90% of a country’s employment, are foremost the victims of digital divide. Helping a country's SMEs is like helping the world avoid a global economic crisis.

Small and medium businesses spend millions on online advertising but they are still losing their customers. They do not know why. 

The SMEs do not have the slightest idea that they have been losing their customers in the Internet address bar.

At this point, I should go back to my cyber farmland reference: A large chunk of the cyberspace is in the browser.  And the entrance to the cyberspace is in the Internet address bar, aka, the Uniform Resource Locator (URL).

Now, how are the SMEs losing their customers at the entrance of cyberspace?

Watch the video below to see how this very same thing happened many years ago:

The story in the video above is about Almon Strowger, an undertaker who noticed that the telephone (back then, it was a newly introduced technology) was not working for him. He was being robbed of clients, yet he was unaware of what was going on. His business was in trouble, until the Strowger switch was developed.

As mentioned, the same thing is happening to small and medium business players today.

Think about this: 

Whose customers are those who type company/brand names in the Internet Address (URL) Bar?

If you dial the telephone number of Mr. Pizza directly, are you a customer of the telephone service or 411? No. You are definitely a customer of Mr. Pizza. It’s obvious.

In the ICT age, the telephone evolved into a more advanced technology-the Internet. If Internet users type mrpizza.co.kr or mrpizza.com (assuming these are domain names owned by Mr. Pizza) in the URL bar, they are evidently customers of Mr.Pizza. Just like dialing the telephone numbers, customers are directly connected to Mr.Pizza.

But how about those who type “Mr. Pizza” without “.co.kr” or “.com” in the URL bar (not in the search bar) -- whose customers are they? Are they customers of the portal or Mr.Pizza? These users are connected to Mr. Pizza. They are not supposed to be customers of the portals.

Every company all over the world has been spending a lot of money and exerting a lot of effort to keep old customers and make new ones. But in cyberspace, the portals benefit from their hard work.

In the Internet or ICT age, customers who type the brand and company names in the URL bar are directed to the portals. They became customers of the portals. What’s going on?

To be continued...

RELATED READING:

Web Economy

Where Is The Cyberspace (Part 1)

Where Is Cyberspace?

The Oxford dictionary says the cyberspace is the "environment in which communication over computer networks occurs." It is like a farmland of opportunities. It is a global network of connected computers. Most of us know this. But do we all know where cyberspace is?

The cyberspace enables business organizations to easily formulate strategies, communicate with customers, and increase revenue.

Cyberspace should be good for everyone. However, the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) that play a vital role in a country’s economy, are struggling despite this technological advancement.

Businesses are losing customers in spite of the enhanced online publicity. This loss of customers is creating a domino effect: Workers are losing their jobs. Consumer demand is dropping. National production is declining.

As a result of all these and more, the national economy of many countries is suffering. These scenarios are happening in highly developed countries.

It is time for everyone to realize that these are all connected to cyberspace operations.

Where is cyberspace? I have asked this question to Internet entrepreneurs, government leaders and all other individuals. Most of them responded that cyberspace is in the Internet, in the servers and networks. It is in the PCs, laptops and all other digital devices that connect to the Internet.

These answers are not wrong. However, these answers are not 100% correct.

In reality, cyberspace is like a farmland, a cyber farmland. And the major part of this land is in the browsers.

Does cyberspace exist outside of the web browsers? Yes. But only in a much smaller scale. The largest part of cyberspace is definitely within the browsers.

To be continued...

RELATED READING:

The Effect on the Web Economy caused by wrongful use of Internet Address Bar