My generation has actually witnessed the inception and growth of the World Wide Web. Hotmail and a certain usa.net were 'cool stuff'! Crazy email IDs - cooldude99, i_m_invincible@something.com - characteristic kiddie IDs. Idiotic forwards would crowd the 100 MB mailbox. All of us would spend at least an hour everyday 'checking emails', laughing at the crazy jokes and cartoons. Anna Kournikova was news - not because of her wonderful tennis, but for the virus that spread by her name. Points of quarrels at school would be the fact that someone skipped another in their 'forwards list'. Then came IMs. MSN Messenger - slow, sluggish, but still cool. Avtars, names, images, et al. The new trend was chatting away to glory all the way into the night! And then meeting the same people in class the next day and talking about what you chatted last night. Then came groups like yahoogroups - bulk mailing groups. One of the most exploited uses was to notify the group to proxy attendance in class!!!
Then came the GOOGLE!!! I bow to thee Google!!!! In just a matter of a few years, one simple idea is a household name and will soon be a concpet in the dictionary. Believe you me.... Just google up 'Google in dictionary' in a few years and you'll see what I mean!! :) Need an answer - google it up. From Hindelburgh to Paris Hilton to Sarah Palin to Oscar Wilde to penicillin. The world wide web has in effect proved the X-files catch line, albeit with a small tweak..... What you seek is out there. Wikis were the next generation knowledge resources - all gyaan on a topic, under one roof. So if you search for sub-prime, you get everything - definition, summary, causes, effects, links. The veracity of the stuff written there is open to debate, since anyone can contribute there. Likewise blogs - your take on anything - freedom of expression takes an all new meaning. But it is a healthy manifestation of people's opinions on things that matter to them. And it is a wonderful way for people to collaborate - the essence of Web 2.0. Social networking - new expressions like 'I ain't orkuting', or 'are you on Facebook', are new icebreaking sentences!!! Social networking sites are the chatrooms of yesterday, and people's profiles on these sites are sacrosanct.
Next is what?????
P.S. I posted this by emailing my blog.... Technology in step with Thought........
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