As the Web Grows into 2005…

by December 31, 2004

Throughout the year, Functioning Form tracked some of 2004’s online growth. “As the Web Grows…” (April), “As the Web Continues to Grow…” (August), and “And the Web Continues to Grow…” (October) followed Internet earnings, broadband penetration, and Internet fraud. As we enter 2005, here’s where we stand:

Broadband soars in 2004

“The rest of the world was also falling in love with the benefits of fast internet access, to the tune of 100 million connections worldwide by April, prompting research firm Point Topic to declare it one of the fastest growing technologies ever.”

US Holiday Online Shopping Up 24 Pct

“Spending by Americans shopping online during this year's holiday season rose 24 percent from a year earlier to $8.8 billion, with sharp gains in purchases of clothing and entertainment”

Amazon trumpets record Christmas

“Internet retailer Amazon has cheered Wall Street by reporting the busiest Christmas in its 10-year history. At its height, the company said it had been logging orders for 32 items per second worldwide.”

AOL Reports Drop in Spam Messages

“The total number of e-mail messages destined for America Online Inc. members averaged 1.6 billion in November a day, down from 2.1 billion daily a year earlier, the company said Monday. The drop was almost entirely in spam, AOL said.”

Of course, it can’t all be good news:

Cybercrime Booms in 2004

“The count of known viruses broke the 100,000 barrier and the number of new viruses grew by more than 50%.”