Online means being connected to the Internet or another similar electronic network, like a bulletin board system. Some companies have online in their name, such as America Online. Although it sounds similar, online is not the same as on air. When one is online, one can receive and transmit information, whereas when one is on the air, one is broadcastingtelevision or radio signals.
Some consider certain experiences while online to be taking place in a universe
called cyberspace that is distinct from real life, the world of experience when offline. A variety of slang terminology has evolved to describe these cyberspacial experiences.
Online also refers to information stored in a computer, whether networked
or not, as distinct from media such as paper that are not mechnically searchable.