Introduction to Entertainment on the Internet

"Culture relates to objects and is a phenomenon of the world; entertainment relates to people and is a phenomenon of life."
-Hannah Arendt

Since the dawn of mankind, we have sought ways to entertain ourselves. We told stories and passed them from village to village, we wrote those stories down into books for all to read, we acted in front of audiences in plays, we act in front of cameras for film, we drew cartoons to both entertain and inform. Before the internet, the only way to get entertainment out was not as accessible. Pirating music used to mean just copying the music onto a another disc, selling that disc, and giving none of the profit to the company.

But now, the Internet can make a star out of almost everybody. People who never would have had the chance to show their stuff are now finding an outlet to gain attention and even fans of their work. Some have even made Internet entertainment their primary source of income.

The Internet Entertainment community is vast and huge. In order to understand the nature of Entertainment on the Internet, it is necessary to understand the appeal of Online Entertainment, The benefits Entertainers gain, and the impact on society as a whole.