Remembertheearlydaysoftheinternet?Thesquawkydial-upconnections?Discoveringthewonderofemailandinstantmessaging?Theearlyonlinegames?Sillyemailattachmentsthatmadeyoujumpoutofyourskinwhenamonstersuddenlyscreechedatyoufromyourscreen?Yes,theinternetwascertainlyanovelty.ButmyhowtimeshavechangedandIdoubtthatmanypeoplecouldhaveseenthattheinternetwouldbecomesuchanintegralpartofoursociety.

　　Youcannowdoyourweeklygroceryshoporevenbookavacationwithouteverleavingthecomfortofyourownhome.Telecommutinghaschangedthewaythatmanypeoplework.Informationthatyouwouldpreviouslyhavehadtovisitalibrarytofindcannowbeaccessedwithonlyafewclicksofyourmouse.Youcanstreammoviesfromtheinternet.Blogshavebecomeanincreasinglyimportantsourceofnewsandenableustoreadadiverserangeofopinionsfromamyriadofcommentators,ratherthanthoseofasinglenewspaperorreporter.Similarly,hyperlocalormicrolocalblogs–whichareblogsdedicatedtoaspecifictownorarea–havebecomevaluablecommunityresources,especiallyinsmalltownswhichmaynothavetheirownlocalnewspaperorradiostation.Worldeventsnowplayoutinreal-timeandpeoplecaninstantlyachievefameorinfamy.Socialmediaisbeingusedincompletelyunexpectedways–peoplestrandedduetotherecentdisruptionscausedbytheIcelandicvolcanousedtheTwitter#getmehomeand#putmeuphashtagstofindhelp.Andevenpoliticalpartiesandcorporationsaremonitoringsocialmediatopredicttrend.

　　Yes,theinternethascertainlyhadanimpactthat’sfarbeyondwhatmostpeoplewouldhavepredictedwhentheyfirststartedforwardingjokestotheirfriendsviaemail:it’sbecomeacriticalsocial,commercialandpoliticaltool.