Since this is not a Wikipedia article, the definition of cloud computing can be a little bit less formal here. Simply put, cloud computer is a fancy new way of saying the Internet and the interconnectivity that nearly every computer made since the mid 1990s has been equipped with – and that most phones now also feature. When you talk about “the Internet,” you do not take into account that people text each other (which can be called cloud computing), or tweet for one another (which is also a deep extension of cloud computing), because these things are not technically on the Internet.

Another time when the term “cloud computing” is not as literal or as immediately clear cut is when you discuss corporate intranets. An intranet is a series of servers that are inside of a company, and very rarely (if ever) connect to the World Wide Web. This is partially a security thing, partially a speed thing (as a few dozen servers can move on new data far faster than the entire Internet can), and partially a matter of pride in a company. The same way Dupont or Harley Davidson would be unlikely to want to outsource or rent their physical production space, they most likely also want to own their own servers, for much the same reason.

Cloud computing is in effect at any point when three or more computerized devices facilitate human contact and the spreading of information. It is no longer able to be confined to “just the Internet,” or to just corporate servers. The abstraction of 3 or more devices means that the “cloud” aspect requires more than just a binary operation. After all, faxing is not cloud computing, because it is the mere transference of information from one party to one other party.

Cloud computing is more than just a buzz word, to people who are really in the know. And for those people, the notion of cloud computing reaches a lot further than just being something to talk about when they are at cocktail parties. But a lot of people who can throw around the phrase “cloud computing,” and even those who know what it means (even if they run entire corporate networks) still might not know the underlying reasoning behind the term. As for the rest of us (especially those of us who are not among the technorati), the reason they call it a cloud is a total bloomin’ mystery.

The idea of a “cloud” is actually a fairly new concept. In the early days of computing, a single computer would be all there might be for miles and miles around. And due to the simplicity of computers back in those days, they had no power at all to talk to one another in any way. As technology slowly evolved (with a computer that took up an entire building compressing down to be only the size of a large room), the notion of a mainframe computer took hold. With several terminals, a computer could be simultaneously accessed by numerous people at once, and “priority” was given to those of a certain class, or in order or request.

As time has gone on, however, computers (and non computer devices that are suitably complex) have gotten to the point where each one can function as nothing more than a cell in the larger context of an environment. Rather like a god having sneezed, the computer (or phone, or other device) on which you are reading this is nothing more than one tiny particle in a massive cloud. While a gross analogy, it is also true.