BEHOLD: The Power of the Internet

I've never stopped to think about the history of the Internet or how it really works.  That might not sound surprising, but since I work for a .com and spend my days thinking about ways to reach our target audience on the web, I was surprised this never crossed my mind before.   As a result, I really enjoyed the first week of my Internet and Interactive Marketing course.   

When thinking about the history of the Internet, I did some reflecting on the government’s role in its creation.  The connection made me think of the recent news of the pressure the government put on Yahoo! to turn over information on its users.  45 years ago, did the government know what they were helping to create?  I wonder if they ever foresaw how the Internet would evolve.  Would they have done anything differently?  

I also thought a lot this week about the power of the Internet.  I really liked the quote from Michael Welsh’s video about Web 2.0, The Machine is Us/ing Us:‘Web 2.0 is linking people.’ This seems basic, but I've never really thought about the Web this way before.  I've read some opinion pieces that talk about how the web disconnects from reality and this is maybe true in some cases (ie—Second Life).  However, the web is also a powerful connector: we can find a date, make a new friend and send an old friend a message without having to leave the couch.  In fact, we probably know more about some of our friends than we even want to because of social specifically (Instagram says that Jessica is having wine again tonight!).

When you really, really think about the Internet and what it enables us to do and how much it has changed our lives and culture--it's really pretty amazing.  I'm looking forward to learning more about how the Internet can be used by marketers, specifically within social.  As a consumer, I use social to keep up-to-date on friends’ (and distant acquaintances’) lives and to be entertained. As a marketer, I struggle with how to genuinely reach consumers in social conversations in a way that also communicates our brand message and drives results.  More to share next week!