East: The Internet Shadow Area

Wyndham Lewis coined the term 'Global Village' and the world has indeed become a village where many things have neared if not physically but definitely psychologically. Gone are the days when to get a copy of foreign newspaper people had to wait for two days; internet now delivers the world in our finger tips. No other country has perhaps cashed on the internet revolution like India has done but the irony is that the Eastern and the North Eastern part of the country has been left far behind. We have fallen in a 'Internet Shadow Area'

The reasons are many both political as well as psychological. One of the major reasons Internet hasn't spread in the region is because it has been considered to be rocket science by many. They have thought it to be too tough to handle. That is far from what is true as research has time and again shown that it is more difficult to create a Word document than to surf the net.

We still not have realised the power of internet as an advertising tool. It is one the cheapest form of advertisement with a long shelf life. Here too we have failed ourselves. Take the websites of any educational institute or organisation in the region we will find that they are appear to be poor when compared similar sites in any part of the country. And even most newspapers of the region have their websites running on obsolete internet technology.

Working for internet portal for over a year I have realised the actual power of internet. Take a small example a regional newspaper which publishes for small geographical reader. Now its reach is limited to that particular region. With internet someone sitting at opposite end of the planet can have access the same news in real time. All other forms of media print, television and radio have their geographical limitations but no such law applies to the internet media.

Internet is a very powerful tool which can do wonders and being the fastest growing form of media we cannot afford to ignore it for too long. Staying in the internet shadow area has thrown us back by many years. We need to stand up and question ourselves for how long will we love to live in this isolation which is not only technological.