IP Address
Categories: Tech
There are geographic addresses, like 123 Main Street, Los Altos, CA 94022. Think of the IP (internet protocol) address as being the virtual address equivalent. It's more or less the address from which users tie into the internet.
An IP address allows a computer system to hop from this server to that one, and then says, "helllooooo, I'm here!" and then "now what?" It's kind of the eyes and ears conduit for the users who want to be there.
A few companies have found clever ways in which to monetize this system. Arguably the most famous company in this realm is GoDaddy, who simply put a meta-layer on top of IP addresses in allowing consumers to easily come up with their own whatever.com website name, and have it mapped, more or less, to an IP address...then registering it with the DNS, or Domain Name Service, such that when hungry surfers are seeking to find whatevers, they find whatever.com easily.