We are living in the 21st century. Of the innumerable human inventions, the most remarkable one has been the advent of internet.
Tracing its roots of evolution to 1962 during the US-USSR cold war, an American scientist, J.C.R. Licklider proposed internet- then called a ‘galactic network’ of computers as a solution to enable government leaders to communicate in the event of telephone network breakdown during war. Several technical iterations to the above resulted into what we know today as Internet. Who would have imagined that a government weapon developed by the US to sail through the cold war era would become such a potent force today!
Starting its marathon journey as a means of dissemination of information to anyone anywhere, internet slowly has made inroads into impacting various facets of our lives. Spreading its wings, internet brought to the world the concept of ‘Emailing’ which forms the backbone of industrial and service revolution. Then came the feature of enabling access to essential daily products online to add to our convenience and to save on our time. Purchase of products from essential dailies has grown to the purchase of high ticket items like electronics, furniture, jewellery, to real estate by bringing into fold multiple sellers of these commodities. This era marked the emergence of e-commerce platforms like Amazon, eBay, Flipkart to enable such transactions.
This has been followed by the emergence of value added service of navigation and maps which has been a turning point in travel industry for individuals. GPS based navigation has become the essential element of driving these days in countries across the globe.
The scale and scope of internet in touching upon our lives has only been evolving with time. While the availability of essential dailies and lifestyle goods through e-commerce websites added to the comfort and convenience in the lives of the modern day working class, the real power of internet came to light when products available elsewhere in a particular region could be ordered with ease.
This saw the foray of big e-commerce marketplaces like Amazon and specialist companies like TasteBells.com into enabling purchase of famous foods from different parts of India online. The beauty of some of these new age companies like TasteBells lies in the fact that they enable you to order the authentic regional delicacies of your choice-be it sweets, chocolates, savouries, pickles and spices or gourmet foods, from the best food makers across India. If you have to savour the best laddoos in India, which actually are available in Kanpur (Thaggu ke laddoo) your options would be limited to the best laddoo store within your city. Or you would impatiently wait for weeks for your nearest kin to get you a boxful of those from your home town.
Such novel services have made lives of people who have resettled in different regions so much easier. Food being such an integral part of our lives, if we get a chance to indulge in the specialty foods of our choice from the best food specialists of India, our life is sorted. Our scope of food exploration and indulgence which till date was limited to our area of residence, courtesy such ventures have got expanded. Our choices have become wider and more authentic.
The power of internet does not stop here. It has only been growing stronger and bigger by the day. Next in line is the Internet of Things-home automation systems, surveillance systems with controls from any part of the world. Amazed enough? Hold your breadth… Internet technology has paved the way for augmented reality-a technology that combines virtual realty with real world.
A whole series of researches are being carried out across the globe to exploit further the ever growing influence of internet. As per recent researches, internet would soon enable us to experience smell sitting in one corner of the world from another corner. It is mind boggling to imagine the tremendous influence internet has and would have on our lives in the years to come.
Internet indeed has become an all pervading influence on our lives. For modern humans, internet defines their way of living. We may not mind spending a day without food, but a day way from internet connectivity makes our hearts pound faster.
The phenomenon of internet is set to grow leaps and bounds making inroads into newer facets of our lives each day and touching upon our lives and transforming them for better.