The cloud is really just a different way of using the Internet. Both terms are used rather liberally, says Mark Weiner, senior vice president of marketing at Virtela, which manages companies' computer networks, in part through cloud services.
" 'The Internet' is a really fuzzy term, as the same word describes both the content and network," says Mr. Weiner. He prefers to use the word "Internet" only when talking about the network, or the connections between computers.
Websites, e-mail, and everything else you do in a browser fall under a different category, "the Web." But that's only about 15 percent of Internet traffic. The majority lies in various cloud services (particularly Internet video) and peer-to-peer file sharing.
These terms get a little fuzzier when websites tap into the cloud. For example, Gmail and Hotmail keep in-boxes in the cloud so that people can access their e-mail from any browser they like.
