Of late I have been very fascinated by the virtual world or the e-world as it is widely known. From a complete anonymity a couple of decades ago to transforming itself into a daily chore, I have been lucky enough to witness the massive evolution of the internet. Let me take you through how over the years the internet has changed itself and our own self.
Birth of the new world
I remember the first time I came face to face with the computer during my admission into the primary school and when taken to the staff room, saw a host of adults working in front of a box shaped instrument emitting light with their eyes glued to it and their fingers snapping rapidly on some sort of a board with distinctly sketched alphabets and numbers on it like a typewriter (I did think it was a typewriter at that time). My curiosity was aroused then and there and I asked my father what that thing was and he in a simple manner with no excitement and eagerness told me it’s a “computer”. From then on started my stint (read: affair) with the machine.
Though the entry of the computer into my home was after a decade of my birth, from the day it arrived it has been like a family member to me (like a brother at least). First there was no internet connection and it was used for general purposes and my definition of general purposes back then included games (how can I forget RoadRash and NFS) and some usage of MS Paint and MS Word.
(www) World Wide Web (I would prefer to call it World Wide Wonder)
Now enters the internet! Or should I say a new form of connectivity that links me with practically anyone and anywhere on our Mother earth and to some extent Father atmosphere as well (remember we can chat with NASA people on space)!
History of the internet dates back to sometime in the 1950s and in 1982 the Internet Protocol Suite (TCP/IP) was standardized and the concept of a world-wide network of fully interconnected TCP/IP networks called the Internet was introduced.
The real impact of the virtual networking was felt in the mid-1990s when it had a drastic impact on culture and commerce, including the rise of near-instant communication by e-mail, instant messaging, Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) “phone calls”, two-way interactive video calls, and the World Wide Web with its discussion forums, blogs, social networking, and online shopping sites to name a few.
For the geeky fellas, here’s how actually the internet infrastructure works.
As of 2011, more than 2.2 billion people – nearly a third of earth’s population — use the services of the Internet and we are still counting.
The Parallel Universe
Pros and cons of internet are widely known and thus need no mention. Yet to put it in one line, you can make a fortune out of it or destroy the world over it. Opportunities range from selling items/services, platform for displaying your views (blogs), connecting with your loved ones and the list goes on. Successful ventures do deserve a mention though and among them we have Amazon, Ebay, Facebook, Twitter, our desi ones like Flipkart and Snapdeal which have captured the opportunity and built on their models when the concept was still in its infancy stage. Imagine now when you think of establishing a portal like Ebay…just not worth the effort!
Population waiting to be tapped
The above mentioned does not mean we are out of ideas and no more “money from the net”. There is a whole bunch of population waiting to be explored, only if we know how to tap it.
Internet Users as a percentage of a country’s population
What we need to focus on are the light coloured areas or the grey zone.
E-commerce…e-arts, e-science and everything that you are ready to sell
E-tailers (online retailers) are booming in India. Whether it is a profitable venture or not, is out of context but the point to note is the amount of people it can target. Practically all internet users are its potential customers as compared to a physical outlet where only people who visit the shop are its hope. If you try to plot the ratio between the two targeted customers it would show the error ‘not calculable’.
E-commerce websites on an average spend $3-4 million every month on advertising and promotional activities which is a massive amount for any commercial entity. What it tries to attain is the attention of the mass segment. Where does the money come from? Well, there are various sources and there are people who believe in the power of internet and so they fund such ventures.
What lies ahead?
Earlier when we wanted to start our own business, one needed capital, contacts, people and what not. Today if you ask me, what does it take to start your own stuff? I would simply reply by saying “an internet connection and a computer to work on” (not so much of a trouble is it?). So go out there and try to explore the wide array of earning prospects lying idle at the touch of a button!
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