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:The concept of collaborating on-line is not new. Even the predecessor to the Internet (ARPAnet) was developed by the U.S. military in the 60's to make it harder for an adversary to eliminate all nuclear missile site, thus creating the MAD doctrine (Mutually Assured Destruction). In the 70s and 80s, there was a need for nuclear and rocket scientist to collaborate to advance nuclear missile research (since each department needed to see the "big picture" as opposed to only their particular contribution. It just happened to be that these scientists worked in research organizations, universities and colleges, allowing instructors and students to start using those tools such as e-mail, and web-browsers accessing the World Wide Web.
:'''Ironically, the mechanism that developed from the "fear of war", developed into an infrastructure to help to promote peace and helping to "bring people together"'''.
:That is what would I call an unexpected but highly pleasant side-effect! :)
:'''This need to "connect" has now extended from educational institutions into our homes and our everyday lives:'''
::*Smart phones, Blackberries, tablet computers, etc
::*Feeling of "disconnection from World" if Internet service is down
:'''This need to connect is further validated by the quick growth of social media applications such as:'''
::*Facebook
