Regardless of what religion you practice (or don’t), chances are you believe in a god or creator. A being that created you and everything around you. However, that’s the god or creator of the physical world; but what about the online world?
If I ever had to explain to someone what it felt like to live in two realities or worlds, I would definitely use the analogy between offline and online. So, back to my question, who are the gods in the online world? Who created this whole universe for us to play in? Who came up with the idea for instantaneous communication or information sharing? Who said “let their be connectivity?”
We all live in two worlds but one of those worlds makes the other exist. Take away offline and the online disappears with it. The online gods are the developers, engineers, designers, and coders of the offline world. It is because of them that you are reading this and it is because of them that you are able to connect with me on sites such as twitter or facebook.
At this point in our lives we do not have to make a choice between living in the the online or offline world, but perhaps one day we might have to make that choice. We are moving towards and ubiquitously connected world, one day not far from now, every single human on the planet will be connected to one another and to the “system.” Think of the Matrix or Wall-E where everyone is “hooked up.” We watch these movies and dismiss them, but these movies were created because there are people out there who understand and see the direction in which we are headed. Now whether, this is bad or good, I cannot say, but I can say that it will happen.
Thinking about this made me ponder what I value and enjoy the most from our online universe. There are many things I can list but I’ll stick to just 3:
Connectivity to anyone anywhere
- I find it absolutely amazing that we live in a time where a physical presence is not needed to get a job done. As long as you have access to the internet you can still have a job (not any, but you can still have one). I also love that I can share photos with my grandmother in Australia or play games with someone in China. Think about how incredible that is.
Sharing knowledge and information
- A few days ago I had back pain from working out, I asked what people recommend I do about it and immediately received several responses. Weeks ago I had trouble with my internet, I voiced my concerns on twitter and the issue was resolved by Comcast in 24 hours. I share my experiences and information with the world and receive valuable feedback, suggestions, and recommendations (for example, how to design my site). I pick up on news stories or interesting articles that people send out daily. I could go and on about this but thanks to our online universe I have become better off, both professionally and personally.
Relationships and connections
- I have met some truly amazing people online and you’re one of them. I want to visit Canada and travel more around the U.S. and the world, I already received many invitations to come stay with people through online interactions, mainly through twitter. I have been able to build trust and authority in the social media and marketing space. It’s amazing that I can get in touch with the CMO of Best Buy or the CEO of Zappos through twitter. It’s amazing that within 8 months I was able to take a blog from 0 readers to one that has thousands of readers and is now ranked by adage and syndicated by half a dozen other sites (this is mostly thanks to all of you that keep sharing my site and interacting with me). It’s amazing that if I don’t like my flight on Southwest that I can tell them, instantly. I have been presented with several opportunities through the online world that would otherwise have not been possible. I collaborated on an ebook (released soon), picked up new clients, met friends, etc. all through the online world. I greatly value my relationships and connections with all of you, this is why I do what I do, so thank you.
What are your thoughts on the future of the online world? What are the 3 things you value the most in the online world?
Thanks for reading!
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