Anything, Everyone and the Internet

CEBU, Philippines - Times are really changing - and changing really fast. Today people have a most convenient hub of the things that they are passionate about: the Internet. The new medium provides news, information, education, and, beyond that, arts and entertainment. It's convenient not only in the sense that it has almost everything, but also because people don't even need to leave home to avail of its offerings.

Traditional entertainment, for instance, is limited by the physical nature of the medium - say, a disk or a tape - or by the spectrum - say, a station or a channel. It is bound by the limits of time, distribution, and shelf space. After all, only so many tapes can be stored or transported or peddled around. And we're no longer talking about cinematic films that can be viewed only in movie houses.

It is reported that, in the United States, all of the radio stations, television stations, the movie stores, and the movie theaters, there are probably around 30,000 choices of entertainment or information from traditional media. In comparison, the Internet has hundreds of thousands of programs to suit anyone's fancy - and the number is continually growing. Those into virtual games or collecting thimbles or basketball are also sure to find something in the Internet.

Certain Internet sites make it possible for people to receive traditional media that they don't normally have access to, anywhere there is a computer. For example, if one wants to see all the latest fashions from France he can get them anytime, 24 hours a day. Traditional radio stations are also doing Internet broadcasts; overseas Filipinos can now listen to broadcasts by local stations back home.

If you want to go back and watch the first episode of the American TV series "I Love Lucy" or "Dragnet," or if you want to see crazy drag-racing accidents or see the rivers of Russia or learn about Shakespeare or watch the Alfred Hitchcock movie "39 Steps," it's all available, and more. We're really creating the history of the world.

In the near future, anybody and everybody can be broadcasters in their own right, as print media enthusiasts are already doing with blogs these days. Actually, it's already happening now as videos can already be posted in the social media and live streaming is already possible. The only question is whether one does it for business or as a labor of love.

If it's simply for the love of it, then posting one's opinions and personal photos and videos is enough. But enterprising minds go much farther. There are now various Internet-based businesses that mimic traditional commerce.

(Helpful Reference: Something for Everyone by Mark Cuban; "Fast Forward" Edited By Alfred C. Sikes with Ellen Pearlman)