This probably isn’t news….

The internet, is changing the world.

Obviously it’s changing the way we work, the way we organize, the way we do business, the way we do everything.  Email, Twitter, Facebook, Skype, these are all great at changing the way we DO things.

Perhaps a better phrasing for the point I’m trying to make would be, “The internet is changing the way we think.”

Even that phrasing has some fundamental flaws.  It certainly seems to be changing the way people perceive the world and the news and what they see and what they are told.

Let’s say, we’re twenty years ago.  You hear a news report involving some matter and somewhere you think to yourself, “something seems off about that.”  Maybe it seems contradictory or opposite of something reported in the past.  The problem is, you can’t quite remember.  You could go to the library and pour over some microfilm but you don’t really have time for this and it’s probably not important.  Besides the fact of what would it prove?  Maybe you could tell your friends, maybe they’d believe you, maybe they wouldn’t care.

People have always noticed these inconsistencies.  Some people had time to care about them.  These were the “conspiracy theory whack jobs”.  These people might occasionally cross paths and exchange ideas or make little newsletters you could subscribe to and get mailed once a month.

Enter, the internet.  Let’s not jump to the current days but let’s say, the 1996 Internet.

You could dial in to a BBS or do some electronic searches on a library computer to find out if your suspicions on the inconsistency with the news seemed true.  It is quicker so you’re more likely to do it.  It’s still a bit cumbersome to prove the theory to people since you’ll need to send out some sort of mass email or wave around piles of print outs and papers.  It’s easier to find others who think the way you do but it’s still limited to the more technologically inclined who own a computer and know where to point their modems.

Jump ahead another ten years (or so) to present day.

Suddenly, we’re all connected.  Suddenly, you can do all of the research you need from the comfort of your own recliner.  Anyone can be a publisher through a blog with a few simple steps.  you can easily find groups and message boards of like minded individuals to help support your viewpoint.  Citing a source to others is as simple as copying a hyperlink.  All of this data is easily saved and archived for future reference.  It’s all easy to accomplish and it’s all lightning fast.

Now, instead of a “nutball” with 10 subscribers to some print paper you typed up on a typewriter you’ve got 1000 followers on twitter and a healthy following to your blog which you update 4-5 times a day.  Others subscribe to your ideas, maybe not all of them, others notice the problems and inconsistencies presented by the news and media outlets.  Maybe they run their own columns on their own websites.

If the printing press helped the people’s voice be heard, the internet is a massive amplifier.  People become increasingly disenfranchised by their superiors as the information becomes more and more accessible.  Occasionally measures are made to stop it or keep it down but it’s the voice of the world and it’s booming and powerful and it can’t be contained.

….and we are barely into it.  Information flow has been exponentiated by the world wide web yet it’s still a very tiny ball compared to it’s potential and it’s future.