Surfing the Internet in search of creativity

INTRODUCTION It is no doubt that we live in the information-oriented society which can be considered a new stage in the development of civilization which has got its own ways of creativity. Electronic means of communication have their own influence on humanity, and the degree of impact on human civilization development is quite comparable with the occurrence of writing and the invention of the printing press. The Internet as an information and communication platform has become essential in our normal daily life. One of the evidence of its scientific importance is the existence of variant terms for Internet language which include computer‐mediated language, computer‐ mediated discourse, online discourse, and electronic discourse etc. All of these are intended to distinguish language‐ and discourse‐related phenomena as a focus of interest from the broader phenomenon of computer‐mediated communication, of which they form a part 1 . “As a global information network, that potentially connects people around the world, the Internet has become a new myth – the myth of the unity of mankind. This utopia is born from the idea that the Internet overcomes the limitations of time, space and corporality. Geographic, national, racial and sexual differentiations are losing their significance there. It seems that the Internet is able to provide a harmonious coexistence of the total, inclusive society and the individual, isolated individual” 2 . The relevance of the research is thus caused by growing interest of linguists to Internet innovations emergence, their interaction with other verbal and non-verbal components within and outside the network, peculiarities of creative activity on the Internet. The aim is to identify and analyze various means and genres of Internet creative activity. To achieve this aim during our study, it is expected to solve the following tasks: determine the types and ways of creation within the Internet; determine the