The bright side of the web

We’re afraid we might have been a little too harsh on the internet in our last blog post, The Dark Side of the Web. While it’s true that the internet has some major pitfalls. It is also responsible for a lot of good in the world. So this week, we’ll focus on the bright side of things web-related.

Read on to learn about the benefits of the internet in general. And also how you can use the internet to promote your business.

A revolution of convenience

The internet has made our lives more convenient than we probably ever thought possible. As a result, we’ve freed up a lot of the time we used to spend waiting. Like the bank lines, calling companies to find out if they’re hiring. And even driving to the mall to buy Christmas gifts.

The web has completely revolutionized things like banking, job-hunting, shopping, and communications. Everything is faster and easier. In addition to the time you save, the convenience of the web help saves resources like fuel and paper (provided that you don’t spend the money you saved buying stuff online and the hours you saved browsing YouTube).

Freedom of information

In the online age, information is easier to access than ever before. We can quickly find out about breaking news on Twitter or learn about ancient history in online libraries.

Simply put the easy access to information granted by the internet enriches people with knowledge, and knowledge is power — the power to make more informed decisions in our lives.

Connecting through technology

Ultimately, the internet connects people with other people, for better or for worse. One of the “better” parts of this connection include the ability to make new friends, stay in touch with old friends, and even find love — in the U.S., one-third of married couples now meet online.

The internet is useful for connecting when you live in a remote location, or if you’re an introvert.

For the good of humankind

Beyond having the ability to look up any bit of information or instantaneously send a message to anyone at any time, the internet also has far-reaching societal effects. These include economic benefits and lifting people out of poverty and oppression.

A study commissioned by Facebook concluded that if developing countries could achieve first-world levels of internet usage, they would see large increases in GDP growth, health conditions, and education opportunities.

Internet use and social media in particular can even allow people to organize political movements to topple oppressive regimes, such as with the Arab Spring of 2011, which started on Twitter.

Additionally, the internet enables humanitarian causes through crowdfunding and microlending.