1. News - Growing up my parents would always get the local newspaper every morning and read it before work or after work. Now print publications are falling faster than the economy due to online news. Instead of flipping through newspapers and paying a subscription fee, you can easily sit at your computer or laptop and getting all of latest local and world news for free.

2. Information - Most people are curious by nature, so the Internet provides a way for them to find an answer to any question the may have by simply asking a question. Search engine sites like Google, Yahoo, and now Bing offer a way for people to find and answers and other opinions to whatever question is on their mind.

3. Communication - People use to just pick up the phone and call somebody when they wanted to talk to them. Now a lot of people send emails as a way of communicating with someone else. I can relate to this a lot, being the coach of my sons basketball team the only way I can get in touch with most of the parents on my sons team is through emails because everyone tends to have different schedules. Email allows you to keep everyone on the same page without any confusion.

4. Recent Events - There are many things going on in the world that interest many different people. By using the Internet you can find out the scores of any sporting event on websites like ESPN.com. You can also find the next time there will be a concert or an event around your area. Or a recap of something you just missed going on due to your busy schedule.

5. Social Networking - Five years ago this wouldn't have been in my top ten, but due to the growth of websites like Facebook, Twitter, Digg, and Myspace social networking is becoming one of the main reasons people log on today. Social networking allows people to get in touch with old friends they have not seen in years and keep in touch.

6. Entertainment - There are many ways to keep yourself entertained these days through the Internet. With video game sales being at an all time high, players can log in through game systems like Playstation 3 and Xbox live t o play people in different states and countries. Also there is Youtube that has some of the funniest videos that I have ever seen in my life.

7. Download Files - The days of going to a store to buy CD's are almost gone. Now you can log into sites like Itunes and download your favorite CD or songs right to your computer, IPOD, or MP3 player. You can also download movies and TV shows that you may have missed or wanted to see.

8. Marketing - Instead of paying $500,000 for a 30 second commercial on a major TV network. Companies are paying a 1/5 of that price to display Ads all over the Internet on sites that target their demographic audience. Small business owners also use the Internet to try and grow their business without spending a lot of money.

9. Online Banking - Today more than ever people are staying away from giving out private banking information over the phone or through the mail. With online banking it allows you set up dates for your bills to be paid directly out of your account on time so you don't have to worry about late fees. You can also quickly check your balance and move money around without stopping into a bank and waiting around for the next available teller.

10. Online Education - Today parents who have little kids at home don't really have time in their schedules to go to school at night after working a full day. Online schools allows them to come home spend time with the kids, and once they go to bed log online and start studying and working on getting their degree from a major university that could be 3000 miles away.

By: Francis David