Evolution of The World

The Internet has made the world smaller in many ways. I think of all the things I order from overseas either because they’re unique, can’t get them in New Zealand, or oddly it’s cheaper to order from offshore and ship to New Zealand than to purchase here!

It’s amazing to think in less than 5 years ago what we now define as broadband was rarely available outside the metro areas, and that dial up was the norm for a lot of the world (and definitely here). Now more business is done with colleagues overseas, and time zones aren’t seen as a hinderance, but rather a plus because when you’re sleeping someone else is making sure your systems are working, or completing work for your following work day.

The Internet has evolved in to a wonderful place full of interactivity and social networking. The website has changed from a humble website to a monstrous mass of information and resource. I find it amazing that what was previously unknown details about someone else’s country is now accessible with a little search on Wikipedia, or Google. People now write diaries online for the world to see, and communities which would have never met otherwise, have joined forces to create something new.

Video has come into it’s own. Uploading and processing videos was previously an offline domain, but now if you’re not editing and posting your videos online you’re falling behind. Media as it seems has become a greater way to express oneself, and even to share ideas, or document applications. A PDF was a pain to open, now it’s child’s play, and video codecs were hard to come by are now plentiful.

Geeks have become gods. The guy you knew at high school who was working in his folks dark and cold garage now is driving Ferraris, and is creating the latest trend. Oh how the world has changed! I find it really exciting to be part of this evolution of the world, with new ideas, and combining various solutions together to achieve what could be thought impossible.

IT has usually been a faceless profession, and in some ways it still is (see SysAdminDay). What’s happening now with more reliance on IT, is our really great IT people are being recognized for the crap hours, and extra work put in to make sure the world has email, and websites which stay up. IT probably still isn’t an overly attractive profession, but it’s sure good to have client which appreciate the hours you put in making sure their systems work, and don’t crap out!

I think that’s about all I can think of at the moment. Comments are welcome, especially those in the IT profession and how you’re finding the big world of IT these days!