How the Internet has Shifted the Balance of Power in All Fields of Our Lives

It would be an understatement to say that the Internet has revolutionized and transformed all aspects of our lives. From the way we shop, work, and live, there is no part of our lives that has been fundamentally reshaped by the internet.

It has shifted the goalposts between the businesses and the consumers by empowering the latter and making them demand better products and heed their wishes and choices.

In addition, the Internet has also led to the creation of a new generation of activists and citizenry who demand answers from the government and other public agencies which are now forced to account for how the taxpayer money is being spent.

Apart from this, the newer generation of App and Aggregator driven firms such as Uber have made our lives easier.

Further, a new generation of entrepreneurs has tapped the power of the internet to build and create startups and businesses from scratch without the hassles faced by the previous generation of entrepreneurs.

A New Class of Powerbrokers has Emerged, Thanks to the Internet

Above all, what all this means is that a New Class of Powerbrokers has emerged in all fields that uses the democratization of the Information and the Removal of the Middlemen from the equation wherein those with the knack to use the internet in creative ways and who put in the efforts needed to capitalize on the same have become the new power centers.

Thus, it would not be remiss to say that the Internet has resulted in a Power Shift where power is no longer the preserve or the domain of the few and instead, anyone anywhere and everyone everywhere can harness its potential to be a game changing tool to actualize both positive and negative changes.

The reason we mentioned both was that while the internet has been the cause of many positive changes, it has also spawned a new form of criminal behavior that is hard to contain and control.

In the same manner in which the web like tentacles of the internet have afforded us the power to be anonymous, this very aspect has also resulted in some adverse consequences such as the recent scandals involving Facebook and Google have shown.

The Internet Democratizes Knowledge and Provides Information to All Instead of a Few

So, what are the specific attributes that make the Internet such a powerful medium? To start with, information is no longer the preserve of a few and instead, it is now available to anyone anywhere at the click of the Mouse.

Indeed, in earlier eras, information was scarce and only the Priestly class for whom information was passed down across generations held the keys to the same.

This resulted in stratification of society wherein those at the top had the wealth and the knowledge to synergize and actualize their power over others.

With knowledge now available to all, a New Class of Powerbrokers has emerged as can be seen from the multiple Apps and Websites that provide advice and guidance in fields ranging from Medicine and Politics to Self Learning and Entrepreneurship.

Indeed, there can be no better example of how this works than the present portal on which you are reading this article.

This portal that allows users from around the world to learn Management Concepts and Knowledge related to the Business Domain shows the power of the Internet wherein anyone and not necessarily those who attended colleges and universities for business education can have access to a treasure trove of information.

Minimal Entry Barriers and Connectedness Makes the World Truly Flat

The next aspect of why the Internet has been transformative relates to the absence or at least, minimal entry barriers. Anyone who has an Innovative and Game Changing idea can now launch a business and obtain approvals easily and then secure funding provided their ideas are not Pipe Dreams.

What more, the Internet allows for this new generation of Entrepreneurs to Scale Up easily without the constraints of Geography and without the need for leasing massive physical locations.

Indeed, Amazon which is a pioneer in Online Retailing and now is a Behemoth by itself shows how the power of the Internet works.

The third aspect of why the Internet has been game changing can be seen in its Ubiquity and Connectedness wherein the World is Truly Flat (to use the term coined by Thomas Friedman) and anyone anywhere and everyone everywhere and anytime and every time connectivity means that we are all in a Gigantic Web of Togetherness where synergies and economies of scale are attainable at minimal operating costs.

There are now websites that aggregate information about medical conditions so that patients can make informed decisions without being in the dark about their ailments and no longer have to solely depend on their Doctors and Physicians to glean more insights about the Diagnosis, Prognosis, and the Medication they are taking.

Disrupt the Status Quo

Lastly, a note of caution is also in order. While the Internet has spawned a New Class of Powerbrokers, the Power Shift should not result in the Status Quo continuing and these Agents of Change must also help others who are aiming to become like them.

In other words, it must not be a Power Shift from one set of entities to another and instead, the lofty ideals that led to the creation of the internet must be followed and a truly democratizing wave must be set in motion.

To conclude, the Power Shift due to the Internet is indeed the defining characteristic of our times and it is up to us to carry forward this legacy.