What is the first icon that you click on when you open
your computer screen?
What is that on service on your phone which if not
present makes your phone useless?
What is that power in your hand that a little twitch of
your fingertips and the world is at your command?
Thinking..
Well..
If Vincent Cerf was sitting in this room today, he would
have definitely looked at me and smiled because he would have exactly
understood what I am trying to say. But back in 1980s even, Mr. Cerf himself didn’t
realize that he is about to change the face of the world. He is about to create
a revolution. Mr. Cerf has given the world Transmission Control
Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) and the revolution is fondly called the
internet.
I understand I can get mixed reactions over here, many of
you here will really think is really internet a revolution or an overrated
technology? Especially those parents or older siblings whose young kids and young
bro and sis are glued to the internet like bees glued to honey
But I want to support my case over here with some facts,
Internet is that industry that has grown over 500 percent
in terms in the past 10-12 years. It had a humble 361 million users back in the
year 2000 which has become a whopping 1967 million in 2012 that’s almost 2
billion. This industry has given chance to the young minds to ignite and become
millionaires’ billionaires’ over night. Mark zuckberg, Andrew Fox, Larry Page,
Sergey Brin to name a few. One of the biggest IPO’s in the history of US
markets which had a capitalization of over $104 billion was that of an social
networking internet company, Facebook
A recent report in India said that there are more mobile
phones than toilets in india and I would like to add that more than 50 percent
of those mobile phones have internet on them. Internet has really become super
common even more than the common cold.
Now coming to individual levels
Internet has made the world Flat, made us individuals Smarter
and Richer and our lives simpler and convenient
The distance barrier has almost gone; if the world was
small it has become smaller.
My aunt’s paternal family is settled abroad, somebody in
Dubai, somebody in Germany, somebody in the Netherlands. She used to meet them
once in 4 years once in 8 years, but now she literally lives in their dinning/
drawing room every day, they see each other and talk for hours and that too at
the cost of some pennies
We have become smarter, thanks to internet.
One day my FB status read, Potato Gnocchi is the worst
form of Italian Cuisine, I thought Gnocchi? I haven’t heard of something like
this before, I quickly goggled the word and found myself a recipe, there was a
flash in the screen there, Italy in Euro Cup Finals, I followed that read that
story then again a Pop up came, Euro Crisis getting Worse, I learnt about three
topics in a matter of three clicks.
I became Smarter
You want to learn everything tiny thing on the internet,
from knitting to web designing, from cooking to grooming, register in colleges,
file returns, pay taxes online and much much more than that.
The world has become Richer.
For many of us internet means facebook, twitter and email
but for some more enlightened individual, internet is much more, it’s the world
of e books, e magazines, e newspaper. It is a pool of free knowledge. They even save their cable bill by watching
most of the stuff online!!Off course they are saving a fortune over there and I
am sure they can buy a Merc after 10 years from that saved money.
The one more thing that internet has revolutionized is
shopping, if you haven’t done any online shopping till now, I really pity you.
There are offers, discounts , cash on delivery options, return policy of 30
days, not only it saves our hard earned money, it also saves time and is simply
very convenient. A click on the screen
and the item is at your doorstep. With hordes of online sites available like
Flipkart, Amazon, e-bay, 99 labels, snap deal, book my show, free charge you
surely don’t want to give it a miss
The time is not far when, some of these Yebhis or the
Mydalas or the Snapdeals would go online selling fruits, vegetables, and all
the grocery items. Pardon me if there's already an existing one for all such items;
however I haven't come across any until now. Trust me, the day's not far.
Our own club Toastmasters International is a offspring of
the internet, we all our connected to TM Int by internet, we pay our dues,
update our development, all on the internet. Our club, our meetings, our
development would not have been possible without internet. We also have our
very own you tube channel, we all have become superstars on the internet.
Internet is not a dying technology, it is a platform that
is here to stay, if properly utilized it is like the intelligent best friend
you never had. Your dad, mom, brother, sister, your friend and most importantly
boyfriend and girl friend might not have all the answers you seek. But take my
word Google will have all your answers minus the tantrums too!!
P.S.: This was was Second Speech at Toastmasters Club
P.S.S: I got the Best Speaker Ribbon for this...Yayy!
