GLOBAL LINKAGES THROUGH BOOKS AND INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY

            Take yourself on a trip back through time. You arrive in a year where computers never existed and the world wide web was just a piece of idea in the corner of man’s imagination. And there were no cellphones thereby no SMS or text. People separated by miles keep in touch through snail mails for there were no electronic mails, no instant messages or chat. For an individual who has been living with all of these modern amenities since he or she was born, life would definitely be difficult.

After the advent of modern technology which has brought us the internet, the world wide web, the cellphones and the computers, life for the human race has changed radically. With just a dial, one can talk to someone on the other side of the globe. With one click, someone is on the other end, on the line for conversation. The world became smaller and smaller because of the web that encompasses every piece of information shared across the entire planet. The web has now become a vital part of our daily lives. It’s as if every person holds a strand of it and the globe is linked in a way that crafts development and advancement.

The new electronic interdependence recreates the world in the image of a global village. Smaller and smaller, vast oceans and continents became closer and closer making the sharing of information relatively uncomplicated. This is surely a positive aspect of technology. The faster communication that scientific innovations have given way to has led to a broader range of opportunities for business and employment. The internet became a rapidly growing media for advertisements. Sharing of information opened new windows for commerce. Google, for example, is a multibillion American company specializing in Internet search and advertising. Google’s name derives from the word googol, the mathematical term for the number 1 followed by 100 zeros. The comExpandpany’s use of the term reflects its business mission to index the seemingly infinite amount of information on the World Wide Web and make it universally accessible. Through Google, a lot of jobs have been created and a whole lot of businesses through the internet have emerged. With this, economies of the developing nations have a better chance to keep up with the globally competitive society. Also, with the unbridled access of information, work becomes efficient and goods and services are delivered at a faster time which could translate to a more proficient industry.

No one can expect the spirit of involvement and partnership to flourish without an abundance of information available to everybody. Information is not only shared through books but through the internet. The modern media of communication motivates everybody to become socially dynamic. Of the present 6.8 billion world population, it is estimated that about 1.9 are internet users. In the Philippines, it is estimated that 60 out of 100 are mobile phone users. But the trends are dramatically increasing. With more and more people having access to these modern media, people become empowered through vital information shared all around the world. This thereby encourages social mobility. Since everybody knows, everybody becomes motivated to act for progress and development.

The new technology is as important to modern man as the discovery of fire was to early man. The open society and the unrestricted access to knowledge are what makes a vast, complex, ever growing, ever changing, ever more specialized and expert technological world, nevertheless a world of human community. A world of human community globally linked through books and information and communications technology.