Are you Internet Matured ?
“The evolution of the internet started taking place in the starting of World War 1 and was initiated b y none other than the dictator Adolf Hitler. He not only asked his unit to develop it, but also asked them to destroy it if detected by the enemies.”
Researchers at the unit brainstormed weighing the advantages and disadvantages associated to internet. And one of the byproduct of this brainstorming had been the term Internet Maturity.
Internet Maturity is the most effective work around to negate disadvantages of internet – very much relevant event today.
However, evolution of Internet dates back to 1996, as many trends that were started/conceptualized way back were developed and saw the light. Looking at the evolution of it and its web presence, an abstract generic model for internet was required known as internet maturity. This model can be mapped onto a simple graph which can be used as an indicator to highlight the level of complexity (and thus cost) of the required web solution. I call it the Internet Maturity Model and it looks like this:
Four prevalent pressures characterize the netizens today as follows:
– globalisation
– the rate of technological change
– the information explosion
– the pressure of competition.
These are not new. They are the same factors that existed twenty years ago. What has changed is their intensity and scale. The meteoric growth of the Internet exemplifies all four.
So how will the Internet affect you individually? Can you get by without it?
A simple technological analogy will bring the answers to these questions into relief. In the past decade, lot many incidents happened in which the people sitting on the web went through too many consequences like bad web presence, illegal implications and other unethical nonsocial activities. To avoid such conditions, internet maturity is very much required.
The true importance of the telephone may not have been recognized in its early days. Certainly no-one could have thought that one day it would be used for transmitting data as well as voice sounds, nor that it would be able to send images in the form of a fax, or be connected to computers as part of a thing called the Internet. Likewise, without the benefit of hindsight, it is difficult for us to imagine the wondrous things that the Internet will be capable of. Things that we believed to be impossible will happen. However, by using the development of the telephone as an analogy we can see some pretty certain Internet trends that will not disappear or decay. We are on the up-slope, not the down slope. The penetration of the Internet in many areas is not yet fully developed.
Is talking to other people on the phone a natural and vital part of your business? This is the most basic use of telephony. The Internet parallel is e-mail.
Internet Rule #1 is about Web Connection: Get Connected and exploit the power of e-mail.
The Internet parallel is about having a Web Presence: have a profile that gives basic information about you and your interest. The issue is that people do not make their profiles seriously because they do not know the pros and cons for the same. As people do not become aware of netiquettes, hence only internet mature people can only make this happen in the way it is required.
Internet Rule #2 is about Web Presence: Get your profile right and create your presence on the Internet.
Is your profile known in the professional network? Do you have a one-liner summary of your profile? The Internet parallel is Web Promotion.
Internet Rule #3: Web Promotion: Promote your profile in the relevant networks on the Internet.
Can you share your digital content on your social network? The Internet parallel is Web Transactions: these do not need to be about money changing hands over the phone (telegraphic funds transfer).
Internet Rule #4: Web Transactions: Create the ability to do at least basic sharing of the content on the Internet, may it be in the forums, social networking websites, blogs, etc.
Are the people in the network known to you? Do they feel secure in your network? Are you able to segregate the network in the relevant groups? Do you accept all the invitations on the internet? The Internet parallel is Web Security.
Internet Rule #5: Web Security: Develop the ability to secure your sharing and profile on the internet.
Does your web presence run solely within a geographic boundary? The Internet Parallel is The Web Organisation.
Internet Rule #6: The Web Organisation: Demolish geographic and time zone barriers, build an Internet Organisation.
If you have reservations about whether to get on the Internet or to push forward your level of Internet maturity, we suggest that you take your guidance from the development of the telephone. And remember, opportunities always look bigger going than coming.
