Ten best things about the internet

To celebrate 40 years of the internet, here are some personal highlights.

The internet is 40 years old today (29 October) and I wasn't even a mere twinkle in my parents' eyes when the first email was sent between two computers 200 miles apart, back in 1969.

I think it's safe to say that the whole world is now benefiting from what was simply an experiment to see if you could send data more easily. There was even a story recently about how some people consider broadband speed more important than where the nearest pub is.

My first experience of the internet was sitting in chat rooms, mainly the Stereophonics one, but we didn't have the internet at all in my house. My mum still doesn't.

Now I don't know how I could function without it. All my friends are on Facebook or Twitter, I plan my evenings by checking out places to eat and drink online, I use it to book cinema, train and football tickets and do most of my shopping on the web too, nine times out of ten saving money in the process.

With this in mind, here are what I consider to be the 10 best things about the internet. Tell us what you think in the Web User forum.

1. Social-networking sites

Quite an obvious one but I have friends all over the country, and in fact the world, that I can speak to and find out about. I was even playing Scrabble online yesterday with my first-ever school boyfriend, thanks to Facebook.

2. Music-streaming sites

I have discovered so many new bands because of sites such as Last.FM as well as hearing other tracks from bands I already like thanks to Spotify.

3. Online banking

I don't know how people have time to manage their finances if they have to spend hours queuing in a bank or waiting on hold. Setting up direct debits (and cancelling them), transferring money and setting up loans can all be done while sitting at home in your underwear, if you want.

4. Route planners

Okay, they might not always be accurate and don't quite compare to a sat-nav but print-outs won't fail on you mid-journey and leave you stranded on the way to Liverpool. They're also brilliant for finding out how long your journey will take.

5. Online shopping

Some argue it is the height of laziness but at busy times like Christmas, supermarket home delivery services spare me the hell of trudging through aisle after aisle. Moonpig saves me having to go to the card shop and I send my Mum, who lives miles away, flowers every Mother's Day through Flyingflowers.com. In fact, I do pretty much all my clothes and products shopping online, partly out of laziness but also because it saves me a fortune over the year, despite delivery costs.

6. Reserve and collect

On the rare times I have ventured out into the high street or haven't had time to wait for the post, the reserve and collect service from companies such as Argos has helped me ensure that family members and friends have received the things that they asked for. Or I can guarantee to get the last pair of must-have shoes. The web in general is also a brilliant way to beat the postal strikes.

7. Catch-up TV

I don't ever have to choose between going out and sitting in front of the TV now because of free online services such as 4oD and the BBC iPlayer. It also means I can watch a whole series of favourites like Peep Show and old classics liks Teachers on a lazy Sunday. Web User's Watch Online blog has loads of places you can catch live sport and entertainment, too.

8. Wikipedia

Of course, I take all information on the site with a pinch of salt but I wouldn't have survived a politics unit in my degree without learning the basics of countries and conflicts. In fact, I don't think I could have completed uni without the internet and don't know how people did before its mainstream use. Wikipedia has also come in handy for preparing for pub quizzes.

9. YouTube

I use this mainly for music videos but, as my 'Recommended for you' choices will testify, I occasionally YouTube the odd Inspector Gadget, Racoons or Thundercats episode. So many news stories have been generated from videos being posted on YouTube, such as the tube worker who resigned over abusing a customer, U2 streaming their recent California gig live and the 'Ask Nobel Laureates' feature last week.

10. Web User

And last but not least, there's Web User. I may be biased a little in this but it is brilliant and, of course, working for it keeps me clothed and fed. 

How much do you know about the internet over the last 40 years? Take our quiz and find out.