internet

Last week’s seminar was super insightful; we finally began to talk about Internet as we know it today. This discussion made me think about where the Internet is heading in the near future. While we have many more weeks to go to talk about this–I want to see what I think about it now and see how my opinion changes in the coming weeks. So, let’s do this.

To me, the Internet was invented for one reason: to make connecting simpler than ever. This notion will never change. The premise that the internet will evolve to ever have a different purpose is not what this class is about. This class is about educating us on how the means to connect in a simple manner will evolve in the near future (plus more, of course). So, if the whole point of the internet is to connect us–whether it be to a news source like Yahoo! (lol), or long-lost twin on Facebook (that must’ve happened, considering its 1 billion+ user base..)–connecting will be different. Let’s take a look at an example: Uber.

Uber is fascinating. To me, it seems so blatantly obvious of an idea and I’m personally shocked someone didn’t come up with it early. I mean, let’s think about what it does: it connects you to a driver to simplify your traveling experience. Taxis are great and all, but Uber is just so much more convenient, and better yet, cheaper (for the most part). Uber singlehandedly disrupted the Taxi market and are slowly driving them out of business. Just take a look at Harvard Square on a Friday night; you’ll find tens of cab drivers waiting outside their cars waiting for business while Uber drivings are receiving overflowing requests. It’s a great idea that helps connect people in need of a service at a lower cost. Overall:  brilliant.

Now, let’s move on to another idea that really fascinates me as well: Venmo. Invented by University of Pennsylvania students, Venmo creates a digital wallet for people to transfer money in their bank accounts or Venmo accounts to their friends. Ever go on a late-night food run with your friends and forget your wallet? No worries. Venmo got your back (and your friends, assuming they brought their wallets…). When you boil down Venmo to its core functionality, you notice that it achieves a similar purpose to Uber. It, once again, connects you to friends to simplify the means of which you transfer money. What I think is even more brilliant is Venmo’s creation of a digital wallet. If someone sends you money via Venmo, it stores automatically in your Venmo account. From there, you can choose to put that money in your bank account or leave it in your account for future transactions so that you can send that money to others on Venmo–pure genius!  This all revolves around the idea of connecting–connecting you with others to transfer money easier and connecting this money to a type of digital currency. Overall: brilliant.

So we talked about two brilliant ideas that go on to show how the internet’s primary use seems to be connectivity–which is what I’m very convinced of. Let’s talk about an idea that uses this premise of connectivity and simplicity: bringing the classroom to you, no matter where you are. I always thought about this as a child who’d miss school quite frequently because of sickness–how can I keep learning at the comfort of my own bed? How can I be connected to my classroom at home so that learning never stops? It’s a simple idea, and this is definitely not terribly difficult to integrate. It makes me think about the future and what I think the Internet could be good for–I think this is one of them.

~ammer s.