Reacting to the Internet - The Cycle of Transition

It is interesting to see the numerous comments about the massive effect of the Internet on the music industry, especially the negative way it is supposed to be affecting production companies and artistes, etc. That kind of anxiety is understandable, but is generally a product of massive change in the face of strong resistance to protect territories and traditions. But the Internet is no different from any new major change.

Any change brings a predictable cycle of reaction. First there is FEAR, then CHALLENGE, followed by guarded CURIOSITY, then EXPERIMENT, then FAMILIARISATION followed by ACCEPTANCE then COMFORT with the change and finally CUSTOMISING it to suit our individual needs. Members of the population will be at different levels of this change process, depending on their relevance to it, their desire to embrace it, their expertise in it and past experience around it. So, if you are into computers big time, you would already be at the customising stage while older people feeling frightened and threatened would be at the fear or challenging stage, wishing for the good old days while pointing out only the bad things one gets on the Internet. They are likely to use it sparingly, to be wary of it and see only the spam and the porn, hardly anything of merit, while computer geeks will virtually live on it and change the quality of our lives with it!!

One could say that we are generally in the experimental stage of the Internet. Not much is making sense to the masses but it sure feels exciting to try it. For example, more than 8 million UK members use the Internet for dating, but a lot wouldn't do it because they still cannot envisage finding a partner online, and the public exposure that entails. Yet the old face-to-face personal ways of seeking a spouse are rapidly diminishing. Women, in particular, appreciate the opportunity of finding a partner from the comfort of their home in relative security.

The Internet is unstoppable now. Give it a few more years and we will be racing towards the ACCEPTANCE and COMFORT levels, doing fantastic things with it. By then the record producers and all those people who are 'losing' out just now would have thought of ways not only to work it to their advantage but also to customise it to suit their objectives. Soon they'll regroup with greater knowledge of what they are dealing with and then heaven help us, as everyone tries to make sure they have maximum benefit from it. Five or ten years from now, the Internet will seem such a seamless part of our lives we will be wondering what all the fuss was about. We would have forgotten all these debates about the merits and demerits of the most amazing creation in the world, the epitome of true global domination!

One thing is certain, already the Internet has given every human being with access to it a huge voice, and where people are being heard it is the greatest feeling of worth and significance. The 1984 take-off of Hillary Clinton is a fantastic case in point, already viewed by over two million people in barely a week, yet it was done by an unknown person wanting to comment on the American election. Like every other revolution, the Internet has already stamped its own impact indelibly on our lives.

But, hold on to your seats, folks, because you ain't see nothin' yet. There's an awful lot more to come.

Article Source: http://www.content.onlypunjab.com

ELAINE SIHERA (Ms Cyprah - www.myspace.com/elaineone and www.elainesihera.co.uk) is an expert author, public speaker, media contributor and columnist. The first Black graduate of the OU and a post-graduate of Cambridge University. Elaine is a CONFIDENCE guru and a consultant for Diversity Management, Personal Empowerment and Relationships. Author of: 10 Easy Steps to Growing Older Disgracefully; 10 Easy Steps to Finding Your Ideal Soulmate!; Money, Sex & Compromise and Managing the Diversity Maze, among others (available on www.amazon.co.uk as well as her personal website). Also the founder of the British Diversity Awards and the Windrush Men and Women of the Year Achievement Awards. She describes herself as, "Fit, Fabulous, Over-fifty and Ready to Fly!"

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