It's not really anything to do with the protocols, they don't really matter. The protocols represented the tools you could use to consume the internet, usenet

It's not really anything to do with the protocols, they don't really matter. The protocols represented the tools you could use to consume the internet, usenet allowed you to follow special interest groups, ftp allowed you to get files ( back in the day of public domain and shareware ), telnet let you into other systems, either for another shell or to play MUDs :) IRC allowed you to chat, Gopher allowed you to find information and resources, and of course there was email. Other than email ( which is a super crappy system ), all the others are fringe tools these days.