How the Baby Has Grown (Part 1)

Although 1 January 1983 is generally considered the official birth date of the internet the journey to its creation began long before the technology required to birth the baby existed. That journey was embarked upon already in the 1960s and it may surprise you to learn that, according to History.com, the vision for the internet first occurred as far back as the early 1900s when inventor extraordinaire Nikola Tesla foresaw a ”world wireless system”.

Internet and the Tesla connection

And yes, he is the same Tesla that electric car company Tesla Motors is named after as homage to the man credited with, according to Energy.gov, a US Energy Department website, “the invention, prediction or contribution to the development of hundreds of technologies that play big parts in our daily lives like the remote control, neon and fluorescent lights, wireless transmission, computers, smartphones, laser beams, x-rays, robotics and, of course, alternating current (AC), the basis of our present-day electrical system.” Teslas are also the units used to measure the strength of a magnetic field, named of course after the same man, who was born in 1856 in the Austrian Empire, now Croatia, before moving to the US in 1884 to work for Thomas Edison.

Changing the world

But the internet is the result of the many building blocks made possible through many years of labor and contributions from inventors, engineers, scientists and others, let’s just call them boffins, and so no single person can take all the credit. Of course, the internet and informational technologies have fundamentally changed the world and human society in every way possible from the way we work, communicate, and socialize. A book can be written about this and a few probably have been already. It is the boffins we can thank for having the ability today to log in to our devices, and with a simple click, or tap to gain access to a world of information, connect to and communicate with people, explore online opportunities, create and design, learn, and perform so many other tasks with just our fingers and the grey matter in our heads.

The language of remote

I think it’s fair to say that today more people know about the internet and are familiar with words like “online”, “digital”, digital marketing”, “wifi”, “networking”, “cryptocurrency”, “bitcoin”… I could go on … than those who have never heard those words or are clueless as to what they mean. At work a computer, personal laptop or mobile/cellphone is as much part of your job resources as pen and paper were in the past. In most scenarios, we would be lost without our online access “tools” or wifi as would a mechanic, electrician or plumber be without his toolbox, and unable to function in our job. The word “remote” has taken on a new meaning. I would put entertainment in the same category. No signal translates to no Netflix, Amazon, Prime, YouTube …

Career paths of learning

Today in schools, starting at the primary school level already, learners have a computer-based education syllabus, and there are computer degrees that are requisite and lay the foundation for a well-paid career in the Internet Technology (IT) sector. These include Information Technology and Information systems; Computer Science; Computer Information; Computer Animation; Software Engineering; Computer Engineering, and Cybersecurity. So although today there are paths for the young to follow who want a career in IT and also become a boffin, for those like me who are retired or for those unable to get a “proper job” for various reasons and for those whose parents cannot afford to send them to university what are the options to succeed in the myriad opportunities that abound in the online universe?

To get to the point

After reading this article you might well ask and wonder where is it heading and what’s the point I’m trying to make. I wasn’t sure whether to put the objective at the beginning or the end. So I tossed a coin and chose heads for at the start and tails for at the end. It landed on heads and I chose the opposite instead. So here it is at the end.

E-shop

I am in the process of opening an e-shop (electronic shop) on Ko-fi which is a platform for writers, artists, podcasters, basically for any type of creator out there, where they can build communities, earn commissions on their work and sell their products, digital or physical from their e-shop, to earn an income. I will be selling digital products and resources that anyone who is planning a project online to make an income will need to help them navigate the web on their journey.

In my follow-up article I will delve into some of the opportunities online, on the internet, in cyberspace, the digital world, the metaverse, the hyperverse, or whatever you call it before introducing some of the products I have access to you in more detail.

This introductory article was to give you some background about the internet and how it has and still is changing our world as it continues to evolve.

Feel free to head over to my store at https://ko-fi.com/shop/settings?src=sidemenu&productType=0# and see what is available there. (864 words)

Writing is thirsty work and if you enjoyed this story how about visiting my page on Ko-fi at https://ko-fi.com/scabcorner49566 and buying me a cup of coffee? Also, feel free to check out my writing editing, and rewriting services available in the Commissions section. Thank you.