The Power of the Internet
In part one we talked about how social media has changed the way that businesses operate, but let’s look at the effect it can have on the individual. Everyone who has an internet connection can access platforms to engage with others from far reaches of the globe. Many of them have even made careers out of it. Some of the biggest household names in the world found their fame by way of YouTube. While not every entertainer on YouTube will experience the same stardom as the likes of Justin Bieber however, there is one entertainer that has summed up just what social media can do for the individual. His moniker is “Boogie2988”. While he makes his livelihood talking about gaming and current affairs in the media, he chose to do something a little different for his milestone 1,000th video upload.
Instead of it being a set piece episode, the entertainer took the time to say how grateful he was to his fans and how YouTube drastically changed his life. It’s something that gives you pause for thought. In a building services career, people outside of the industry are always interested to hear about the work we do on culturally well-received buildings. However, the words ‘data centre’ often make people think of rows of sterile cabinets and they gradually lose interest. In most cases this is the physical reality, but Boogie’s musings are a reminder of how the internet is one of the largest culturally-defining manifestations since the advent of the calendar.
The global network of data centres define who we are as a society now. Information, of any sort, is available on hand. Communication between separate corners of the earth is effortless and once inconceivable communities, in terms of scale and diversity, are now commonplace.
The world has become a lot smaller with the growth of the data centre. With all those packets of data streaming around the world, we are able to educate ourselves further. We are able to access news without the need for multinational broadcasting channels. Political movements have been started by way of social media as seen with the Egyptian Revolution. In some cases, people are even using social platforms to offer free education to students in less developed countries.
As long as you have an internet connection, you can touch the lives of millions of people globally. Something that was previously only achievable through mass media or word of mouth. Today, everything is achievable “through the power of the internet”, or as we know it, the data centre.
Keep an eye out for the final part of our Social Media blog series ‘This Rise of Social Media’ next week. To read Part One again please click here.