Van Ness, Peter H.

How the Internet is Transforming Human Consciousness through its Transformation of the Workplace and Business Relationships

Abstract

Human connectedness has exploded in the last 20 years. In 1981, a mere 213 Internet hosts existed in the world, as compared with 126 million in 2001 (see table). When I began building complex databases in 1984, none of my clients had a Web site. At that time, Tim Burners-Lee, inventor of the Web, was just beginning to tinker with "weblike" software at CERN. Today, every one of my clients has a Web site and nearly all of their customers and employees have access to the Web. In a very short period of time, most people in the developed world have come to expect instantaneous 24x7 access to information and to each other. This expectation is changing the way we communicate with one another. This new communication along with a revolution in the design of tools used to retrieve and analyze information, is transforming our work, play, commerce and image of ourselves in the world.

As a member of the panel THE INTERNET AND THE NEW TRANSFORMATION OF CONSCIOUSNESS, I will use the Web to present a creative demonstration of how the Internet has transformed our sense of belonging, in particular, by transforming the workplace and relationships between businesses and their customers.