What Would You Do If the Internet Went Down Tomorrow?
Posted 17th May 2011 at 09:37 PM by The Content King
This blog is a brainstorming exercise that turned into a blog. I don't know why that intro is necessary, but here you go.
Not to be a dooms bringer or anything, but there's a lot of talk of the end of the world lately. The year 2012 and even the date May 21st, 2011, just a couple of days away, are pegged for being the date when mother nature says 'night 'night.
There was even a story recently of a man who spent his retirement savings on Doomsday signs because he was convinced that the world will end on May 21st, 2011.
But this isn't about the end of the world in the physical sense. I'd instead like to discuss the virtual world in which most of us live and work on a daily basis. I'm of course talking about the Internet.
The Internet has grown to become a vast network of shops and stories and news and porn and it has allowed information to be shared at lightning speed. Never before in history have humans had access to such technology or means of communication.
In days long since past, you had to use a carrier pigeon or smoke signals to communicate with someone else across long distances. And even then, long distance meant about a mile, if that.
When the telephone came out, then the cordless phone and then the pay phone, nobody could believe it. Then cell phones emerged to everyone's amazement, and now we have phones that you can use as computers.
They are computers, after all. Let's just stop calling smartphones phones, okay? They definitely shouldn't be called 'Smart Phones' because most of them suck at being phones.
The iPhone? I love it, but it's better at being a computer than a phone. It takes ten minutes to dial a number. But I digress.
Back to the Internet.
In the Middle Ages, you would have to wait months for news to arrive from a far away village, sometimes years. If someone got married, died or someone invented an easier way to fish or hunt, you would have to wait five to ten years for that information if you lived on another continent.
But today you can communicate with someone across the world in just a few seconds.
I have clients in Australia, India, the UK, etc. and I can send a message 'just like that'. How crazy is that?
But what if that all went away tomorrow? With all of these transformer explosions happening all across the country, and with blackouts being reported with increasing intensity, not to mention the pressure on governments to suppress dissension after what happened recently in the Middle East, the Internet could be here today and gone tomorrow and we would be helpless to do anything about it.
But what would you do? No matter what your situation may be, chances are you're going to be seriously affected if this doom-and-gloom scenario comes into being.
Again, I don't mean to be all doom and gloom. But if you think that the Internet is going to remain as it is today for very much longer, you just might be in for an awakening.
There are bills being passed right now that are going to be used to censor the Internet. Only certain people will be able to blog. Only certain people will be able to create websites. You'll have to pay if you want to join the 'upper tiers' of the internet, where all the real traffic is.
With all the online marketers jumping into the game right now, from all over the world, the Internet is being saturated with sales and offers. Even helpful articles and videos are nothing but disguised attraction marketing sales pitches. I have a feeling something is about to happen and it's going to be a game changer.
Of course I could be wrong. But it's interesting to think about. I'd be screwed if the Internet went away. It's my sole source of income. I guess I'd have to brush up on my outside salesman skills and start hittin' the streets. I used to be a pretty good salesman back in the day. I'm sure it's like riding a bike.
But what would you do if the Internet went to black and you had no phone? What if an EMP device or even a sun spot blasts all the electronics for miles and miles? What if you couldn't get a hold of any of your loved ones? What would you do?
Most of us are so dependent on technology and cell phones that we take them for granted. Me? I haven't talked to a family member in months, but I have clients I email on a daily basis. I don't really like talking on the phone so I text and email everyone. I'm not what you would call a 'social person' in other words.
Here's a personal story to end out on. The lights went out the other day and I had no Internet. I didn't even have service with AT&T. It was really weird. This is around the same time that those transformer exploded in Fort Worth, which is in Texas but not necessarily close to me. But I imagined that if we were out of power for an extended period of time, and if that power and Internet outage happened worldwide...we'd be forced to get to know our neighbors again.
I've lived here two years and I've spoken with my neighbors maybe twice.
We'd be forced to perfect our face-to-face bargaining skills if we wanted to trade/barter. It's scary to think what would happen if the Internet went black and we were suddenly back in the dark ages.
What would you do?
Not to be a dooms bringer or anything, but there's a lot of talk of the end of the world lately. The year 2012 and even the date May 21st, 2011, just a couple of days away, are pegged for being the date when mother nature says 'night 'night.
There was even a story recently of a man who spent his retirement savings on Doomsday signs because he was convinced that the world will end on May 21st, 2011.
But this isn't about the end of the world in the physical sense. I'd instead like to discuss the virtual world in which most of us live and work on a daily basis. I'm of course talking about the Internet.
The Internet has grown to become a vast network of shops and stories and news and porn and it has allowed information to be shared at lightning speed. Never before in history have humans had access to such technology or means of communication.
In days long since past, you had to use a carrier pigeon or smoke signals to communicate with someone else across long distances. And even then, long distance meant about a mile, if that.
When the telephone came out, then the cordless phone and then the pay phone, nobody could believe it. Then cell phones emerged to everyone's amazement, and now we have phones that you can use as computers.
They are computers, after all. Let's just stop calling smartphones phones, okay? They definitely shouldn't be called 'Smart Phones' because most of them suck at being phones.
The iPhone? I love it, but it's better at being a computer than a phone. It takes ten minutes to dial a number. But I digress.
Back to the Internet.
In the Middle Ages, you would have to wait months for news to arrive from a far away village, sometimes years. If someone got married, died or someone invented an easier way to fish or hunt, you would have to wait five to ten years for that information if you lived on another continent.
But today you can communicate with someone across the world in just a few seconds.
I have clients in Australia, India, the UK, etc. and I can send a message 'just like that'. How crazy is that?
But what if that all went away tomorrow? With all of these transformer explosions happening all across the country, and with blackouts being reported with increasing intensity, not to mention the pressure on governments to suppress dissension after what happened recently in the Middle East, the Internet could be here today and gone tomorrow and we would be helpless to do anything about it.
But what would you do? No matter what your situation may be, chances are you're going to be seriously affected if this doom-and-gloom scenario comes into being.
Again, I don't mean to be all doom and gloom. But if you think that the Internet is going to remain as it is today for very much longer, you just might be in for an awakening.
There are bills being passed right now that are going to be used to censor the Internet. Only certain people will be able to blog. Only certain people will be able to create websites. You'll have to pay if you want to join the 'upper tiers' of the internet, where all the real traffic is.
With all the online marketers jumping into the game right now, from all over the world, the Internet is being saturated with sales and offers. Even helpful articles and videos are nothing but disguised attraction marketing sales pitches. I have a feeling something is about to happen and it's going to be a game changer.
Of course I could be wrong. But it's interesting to think about. I'd be screwed if the Internet went away. It's my sole source of income. I guess I'd have to brush up on my outside salesman skills and start hittin' the streets. I used to be a pretty good salesman back in the day. I'm sure it's like riding a bike.
But what would you do if the Internet went to black and you had no phone? What if an EMP device or even a sun spot blasts all the electronics for miles and miles? What if you couldn't get a hold of any of your loved ones? What would you do?
Most of us are so dependent on technology and cell phones that we take them for granted. Me? I haven't talked to a family member in months, but I have clients I email on a daily basis. I don't really like talking on the phone so I text and email everyone. I'm not what you would call a 'social person' in other words.
Here's a personal story to end out on. The lights went out the other day and I had no Internet. I didn't even have service with AT&T. It was really weird. This is around the same time that those transformer exploded in Fort Worth, which is in Texas but not necessarily close to me. But I imagined that if we were out of power for an extended period of time, and if that power and Internet outage happened worldwide...we'd be forced to get to know our neighbors again.
I've lived here two years and I've spoken with my neighbors maybe twice.
We'd be forced to perfect our face-to-face bargaining skills if we wanted to trade/barter. It's scary to think what would happen if the Internet went black and we were suddenly back in the dark ages.
What would you do?
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