This Is Internet

By Rohan Bhardwaj

Over the past quarter century, Seth Godin has taught and inspired millions of entrepreneurs, marketers, leaders and fans from all walks of life, via his blog, online courses, lectures and bestselling books. He is the inventor of countless ideas and phrases that have made their way into mainstream business language, from Permission Marketing to Purple Cow to Tribes to the Dip.

 

And I am his fan. The biggest. This book is my tribute to him. When I first saw the book, 'This is Marketing' - I was thrilled. And I wanted to write a book which I can write a bold title about. And there I am with my book - 'This Is Internet'.

 

Whatever you do now is on the internet. And the future is geared by internet. So you will need a guide, a handbook, compass to help you. Not to tell you the right path. But to tell you all about it. So you can choose for yourself.

 

This is my gift to Seth Godin and you.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Rohan Bhardwaj
• Release date: Jun 7, 2020
• ISBN: 9781393227915

Book preview

Introduction

I love Seth Godin. To the extent that I consider him my hero. And virtual mentor. He helps me, among many. Through his blogs and enormous projects he has done.

His book, ‘This Is Marketing’ is amazing. And only he can write a book with that title. Because he is the marketing guru. Not the sleazy one or someone who keeps nagging. But the one who tells stories. And shifts our culture.

I got inspired. And it got me thinking - what is a book I can write with a similar title. And then it clicked me. I have been on the internet and it’s fan since so long.

And hence, this book is my attempt to write everything there is to ‘This Is Internet’. I hope you find value in this book.

Find me online @ http://www.rohanbhardwaj.com

Also my hero Seth Godin @ https://seths.blog/

A Riff On Internet

The First Phone

When you are born in the 90's there are some things which make up your childhood - amazing cartoons, a culture of playing on the ground and no phones. Not everyone had a phone and the few phones which existed were the ones which were bulky and did pretty much the basic function.

You would be lucky if there was an option to set alarm or have a radio - those were premium features.

But then the times changed, everyone was getting a phone and the idea that you should have something to contact back home became the norm. Earlier, kids used to play for long hours without any contact and nothing bad happened. But I guess, with the advancement in phones, there has been advancement in the bad psychics of people too.

You have completed your high school and in the first year of graduation - almost everyone has a phone.

Your mother comes as your savior and after your continuous nagging, she agrees to buy you a Nokia - which was the best and common phone company. Long before Apple or Samsung, they dominated the market.

Like any new thing, you took the phone and went to the college - excited to share your device. And you called your mom in front of your friends - the ringing went and you said, ‘Hello...’

The First Smartphone

But that’s a phone which is rigid, small and boring. All you could with it was call and text someone. Suddenly, there came the era of smartphones which enabled you to do more - take calls, access the internet and change the world. All the world’s access at your fingertips - this was a revolutionary thing.

And you started craving for the next generation phone because all of your friends had one. Nokia still dominated the market - with the new phones coming in.

The touch was smooth - there were videos which used to buffer a lot because of the slow internet. But for the time, it was the best thing you experienced.

Smartphones cost at least 5 times the normal phones and so you are in no position to buy them. You wait for your school to finish so you can work part time and save money for this wonderful gadget.

After toiling for 1 month, you get a handsome pay for the gig and the first thing you do is buy that smartphone.

Not for the calling, texting or internet feature because you don’t know much about their use. But for the show off status so you can be as cool as your friends.

Slow Internet And Mind-blown

Fast internet was a dream and you can’t even imagine what a fast internet would look like. The song took more than an hour to download and it was mere 5 MB.

But there wasn’t much to do – the internet was new, the games on smartphones were new and the freedom was new. So you were mind blown by simple things being able to access videos or chat with someone from another side of the city.

You would sit patiently downloading a video because if the connection went away, it would mean you have to start from the beginning and your internet pack has lost that much MB. The Internet came in sizes which were so small that it would get consumed within 1 hour at today’s speed. There were not many things you could do because you were limited by the speed of the internet.

So text heavy pages like Wikipedia fancied many. A place where you could get all the answers to your question – unbiased and detailed, it seemed like a magical place.

So every assignment which you got was made with the help of this magical place where there were resources, links and reports on almost everything.

Less Access, Better Access

Since you have infinite internet at your disposal, it is easy to do things just for the sake of doing – entertaining yourself, mindlessly surfing social media accounts and binge watching Netflix.

If you do all of this being aware of your time spent then it’s fine. Else, it can take a huge amount of your time and give nothing in return.

Compare this to the time when you had less access to the internet – since it was limited you only searched for the things which mattered to you. Every MB you spend was spent on things like research, making something and having fun – in that order.

Now, you spend most of your time on having fun and almost none in creating and making an impact.

Better access doesn’t mean you have infinite access. It has no meaning if you aren’t utilizing it to a maximum benefit. The Internet literally opens up doors to you which wasn’t even imaginable. So if you want more access to feel like better access, start by focusing on doing things which matter to you the most when you go on the internet. And then when you are done with that, go with the fun part of entertaining yourself on the internet.

Sorta Internet Addiction

The beautiful thing about the internet is that it provides so much value if you want to explore deep into any topic.

The scary part about internet is that it provides so much value that you can get lost in the sea of information and get analysis paralysis. So the best approach is to have a time limit and make assertion based on the best available information.

Else, you can find yourself in a place of internet addiction – which means you are spending much of your time online.

That’s now how your life is supposed to be lived. Online exists so that you do the work that matters, make connection and then have some impact – ultimately you need to come offline to connect with your friends and family and live your life in the present.

Games are made addictive, videos are aimed so that you watch their whole series and there are challenges to keep you hooked.

All of this are fine as long as you are doing it voluntarily. Else you might find yourself in a place where you have no control and everyday you are finding yourself at internet, doing nothing in sum.

Things Which Have Changed - Before, After Internet

The Difference

Pre-internet era had space for physical activity and creativity. As a kid, you went out and played with friends - when you are at home, you did some doodling, did some drawing or watched cartoons.

Being an adult meant, you would watch a lot of news, serials were the highlight and outings were a theme for Sunday.

Often you went to park where you become kid and then the ground become the softest bed. You lie down and started observing the nature, the wind rushing and making you feel alive.

Also one of the best outings were the place of relatives - you went to their homes on Sunday and next Sunday they come to your house. This would happen among close relatives in your vicinity. As such, there was a lot of banter and good vibes among children. Also, the adults were having a great time connecting with other parents and sharing their problems and relieving them in the process.

Internet changed things for good. Now, the obvious thing to do while waiting for someone is to hop on social media account and scroll.

And most of the times, you are just scrolling and not even reading things. The act of scrolling has become a symbol of passing time.

Phone Call 100 Rupees Delhi Vs Internet Call

Calling interstate meant you need to go to the local phone station and wait in line. There was no phone and as such you need to carry a lot of cash. And since this was a costly affair, you did the calling session with your entire family and once every quarter or so.

As you stood in line, the families who had come before you shouted in the phone. They don’t want to take chance of repeating words and thus increasing their cost.

After about an hour or so, you got the opportunity and as you dialed in, the price meter started. You were thrilled - and talked for about 2 minutes and then you passed on the phone to others and the same thing was happening at the other end. It was a circus and sometimes all one could speak was ‘hello, how are you’ and the phone was snatched by someone eager.

Not much has been spoken but the hearts