I can no longer remember the first time I went to an Internet shop, rented a computer, and surf the Net. It definitely has been years ago, probably, when I was still in grade school (or high school?). There is one proof, by the way, that shows that I really am a long-time Internet user – the crown placed beside my name in Yahoo! Messenger.
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Using the Internet is like riding a public vehicle – you get on, other people (including strangers) ride with you, and you get off on your supposed destination. Like public transportation, Internet is a need for most, if not all, people.
Get on the ride
Imagine chatting with a friend who’s in Canada while you are sitting on your desk, at the comfort of your room. Imagine visiting www.perezhilton.com and getting the latest gossip in Hollywood. Imagine staying in Starbucks, happily sipping your White Chocolate Mocha while watching the official trailer of The Time Traveler’s Wife. Imagine sitting in front of your laptop while reading your friends’ tweets and plurks about how good Transformers 2 is, and finding yourself feeling envious because you weren’t able to watch it yet.
Close your eyes. Imagine.
Open your eyes. Welcome to reality.
The Internet has made all the aforementioned scenarios possible. Before, the Net has been used exclusively for government-funded projects (Locke, 1999) . Now, it has been used to connect – to people, to organizations, to information, to almost everything. Friends from two ends of the globe can communicate with each other. Breaking news from the United States also becomes breaking news here in the Philippines. This participation and connection that we get from the Internet is said to be the reason why we hopped on the World Wide Web (read Internet Apocalypso).
Hitch
While we are enjoying the ride that made almost all things possible for us, corporations decided to join us in the Net. Did they join us to connect with us? Or did they have other plans?
Corporations created their website and Intranets. But because they fear of losing their control to their people and spilling secrets of their organizations to their internal and external stakeholders, they used the Internet with utmost care – to the point of losing what it was really for us humans: connecting with each other.
Corporations saw their workers as plain workers – people who get the job done for the organization. They saw their market as mere market – people who buy their products or services. They did not consider their workforce and market as sources of useful information. They did not trust their workforce and market. Because of these, corporations lost – and are losing – great opportunities that the Net offers.
If only companies realize that they can trust their internal and external stakeholders, their websites will contain more than company logos, company profiles, and organizational structures. If only companies will be like humans and see that the Net is for building connections, their Intranets will be for cooperation and negotiation among workers. But as long as corporations keep their current mentality, they may be soon asked to get off the ride. But of course, that is quite impossible.
Drop Off
When we give our payment to the jeepney driver, we have to pass the money to unknown people until it reaches the driver. When we ride the bus, we get to sit beside a person we do not know at all. Same goes when we ride the FX. While we are riding these vehicles, we get to relate with others, even total strangers.
Just like in a public vehicle, people using the Internet are most likely strangers to each other. A girl from Australia may be reading your tweets right now. A guy from New York may be checking your Facebook account at this minute. You may not know them, but you get to be connected. And it’s all because of the Internet.
At the end of the ride, we get off and temporarily stop using the Net. I say temporarily because tomorrow or the next day, we will still switch on our computer or laptop and click on the Internet Explorer logo or Mozilla Firefox logo we see in our screens. We get off happily because we are able to reach our destination, that is, getting our voice back and being heard and listened to.
I must say, I love the metaphor! Oh wow, Internet’s all over us. My favorite is the “drop off” explanation, that we step down from the jeepney happily because we reach our destination–which is to be heard and listened to. That was very humane and realistic.
Alongside power that the internet can give us, it also gives us this human element that contributes to our personality. Thanks to the internet, we still somehow feel secured that someone is there to welcome our thoughts–no matter how weird they are.
It really feels good that no matter how weird, or even senseless, our thoughts are, there are people out there who listen to them. The Net has really provided us with the belongingness that we sometimes crave for.
Thanks for your positive comment, Nash. Let’s continue riding this public transport, that is the Internet.
I have to agree with Nash. The metaphor was very useful.
One feature of the Internet is social networking, and this has been a BIG click for all Internet users.
Internet has given us access to a community that may either share or not share our interests. It feeds the human nature of always being curious. It has provided a borderless network where people can explore each others’ thoughts and insights. Simply put, Internet satisfied the human need not only for communication, but also for belongingness.
Yes, people always want to belong. They always want to be a part of something. And the Net has served as a venue where people feel important…that they are, indeed, a part of a community.
Oops. I forgot to say thanks for the link (TTW).
No problem! I hope you enjoyed the trailer as much as I did. Be excited! Get ready to fall in love and cry. Hahaha!
Hi Jona. I really do hope that companies think no more of their employees as mere workers. And they SHOULD. (To think that in one year, hopefully, we will also be employees in some organization.)
The Internet as The Ride is very creative. Nice thinking, and nice work.
Hahaha! They really SHOULD. We don’t want to be treated as robots in the organization. Companies should really realize that their workers are humans — they think, they feel.
Thank you, Jemi.
what could be more Pinoy than a jeepney!
i like the use of riding the jeepney to make better sense of the Internet. It will be useful to other Pinoy online readers. I myself found me nodding to the analogy as I read through because the jeepney is close to home. great job!
Thanks sir!
I feel so happy and relieved to have received a positive comment from you. HAHA!
was i nega to you all the time? *thinks hard* *soul searching*
joyride. every trip has a destination. an end.
But of course.
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Hello twitter buddy! Haha! Late comment. But here we go…
1. True, if only organizations saw the internet as more than just another accessory but also as another limb–an important one at that. It’s not enough that you have a website and that there’s occasional traffic there. It’s your piece of the organization out in the world. It has to be more than just fabulous. It has to work too.
2. I CANNOT WAIT FOR The Time Traveler’s Wife!!!
Been waiting for it since forever
Hurray August ♥
True, true.
Forever’s about to end ‘coz August is about to come. HAHAHA! Soup! :p
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YES!!! August is around the cornerrrrr, my co-souper