How Internet Changed My Life !!!

Today I can claim that I learn more from Google, Wiki than what I learnt from my engineering or MBA. I know people better through Facebook, Orkut than personally, I communicate more through email or instant messaging than in person or phone, I get updates faster and reliable through Twitter than any other media, I present my views better in blog than through any presentation or debate. Flashback to 1998...


I was so uninterested when my mom pestered me to create an email id, know more about web, internet because I was suffering from computer-phobia. Internet arrived in some 1995 but was not widely popular until late 90's and also because I was in Kurnool from 1997 to 2001 doing my engineering, the kind of exposure to technological advancement was meager. 


But it was in 1998 I had to create my first ever email id at www.netaddress.com as that was more popular than yahoos, rediffs and hotmails then. Need for communication with US universities' admin and faculty pulled me into the cyber-world. Also when my super-seniors left for US, they forced me to visit netcafe regularly to be in touch. 


An year later, I created my yahoo account as something called Yahoo Messenger (that time with some other name which I don't remember) entered the scene and I looked at it with awe :) Chatting through internet was wicked.  40 per hour was too expensive but I slowly got addicted to that without realizing how it would change my life in years to come :)


I've literally lived on YM and yahoo-mail for next 8 years. Daily communication with professors and admins of US universities, research on universities, preparation for GRE, TOEFL, visa till 2001; eventual preparation for CAT, research about projects in MBA, job applications - I remember doing all these from 2000 - 2003 on internet. Google and Wiki became my best friends during that era. I don't really remember doing anything else during that phase except learning more and more about / from internet resources. I was talking only to people on my email contact list, chat friends list; googled / wikied every management / marketing / finance concept and never got hooked by books (and hence average grades in exams :D)


2005 was an year where Internet played my cupid. I met my girlfriend (then, now wife) on YM. She was working in Korea and I tried to overhaul my daily routine to be able to spend time chatting with her. Days, months and years passed. YM is the biggest witness of our love story. I got close to my sister-in-law during this phase and we are each other's biggest fans, I guess. I don't know what my life would have been, had I not known about internet then :)


The same year, she inspired me to shift my email account to Gmail and get an Orkut account, which again was a life-turner for me. Orkut and Gtalk made me forget my long and eventful association with Yahoo. 2006 was the year when I got inreoduced to my brother-in-law and his friend Srikkanth - my future employer in Canada (yeah, both through internet) and everything happened so fast that I saw myself in Canada, a year later :)... I don't know where I would have been working now, if I didn't know these guys :D


2007, the year of my marriage. The year when my fiancee / wife shifted her base from Korea to India and I shifted from India to Canada. Again a long distance relationship (countries changed, distance didn't) which propelled me to stick more to my lappy than with people around. My mom being more computer-savvy than I ever was, too preferred instant messaging. With mom, wife, sister living on internet, I couldn't help myself :)


2007 saw my debut in 3 different and most influential networks in years to come: Blog, Twitter, Facebook. Wifey influenced me to get into the first two, I inspired her to take up the latter.


Though joined earlier, Orkut took me into its wings only when I joined an online community "My relatives and cousins". Earlier I knew only 10 or 15 of my first cousins. This community gave me 450 of them and 50 got so close to me that I treat them as my closest friends till date, and may be forever too. I met people who liked me, loved me, admired me, supported me and vice-versa. The emotional and psychological support I received from these people made me a better person for sure. I don't know how different and insipid my life would have been, had I not known few very important people here :)


Blog happened to be one of the most beautiful things in my online life. I strongly needed an outlet of emotions, expressions, views but who would care to listen patiently if I speak all these things ? Blog was an instant answer. I started this with the very idea of putting out everything that goes on in my mind. This is the place which is till date acting as my alter-ego, my best-friend, who can listen to anything about me patiently without feeling bored :D ..and today I feel content that there are few people who like to read what I write here. I'm very humbled by the love and support I'm conferred by them. Love to all.


Twitter is a revolution. With my 3 years of twitter-addiction, I can claim without any qualms that those without twitter account are loosing in a hell lot of ways. Twitter is THE world, twitter is THE society and twitter is THE reality. Its something which keeps you connected to the world, makes you street smart, keeps you abreast of the happenings, its the first-hand, unbiased media, its better than Google search for most of the matters, its the biggest source of entertainment and its here to stay.


Facebook is something I didn't get along till recently due to my loyalty towards Orkut. But things changed, people I love shifted to Facebook and now Orkuting has become a mere formality. Today, life is more on FB. 245 friends, their updates, photos, comments, views. Its not an exaggeration if I say FB is the reality and outside world is virtual. I don't think anybody can know about their friends / loved ones in real life as much they can know through FB. Love "The Social Network" and an alternate world Mark has bestowed upon us.


Earlier, life would have been difficult without a computer / laptop. Now its close to impossible without a smartphone with data package. It was more evident when I got restless due to unavailability / inaccessibility of data network for few days during my recent vacation.


Now I can't imagine how my life was without all these things around some 13 years back. Am also amazed to see people who can spend a quality life in current period without internet and its addiction. But I can't. May be am loosing myself to the virtual world, but its way better than the real world :)