Keep The Faith magazine - Britain's leading publication about Black faith

The internet is now the tool of choice for PR campaigns, meeting people, research, making money and a lot more. Increasingly people are finding themselves more reliant on the internet for news, leisure and business. The internet has also given us some new words that are now part of our everyday life and new names, entrepreneurs who have come up with great ideas that now shape our online activities.

Take ‘Google’ , a non existent word 11 years ago, but now a global phenomena. Mark Zuckerberg, only 25 years old, but one of the best known internet entrepreneurs due to Facebook which he founded in 2004. In this special issue celebrating the Black History Month, I would like to introduce you to a few people who have recognised the potential of computer technology and are using it to change their world.

Dr Mark Dean, now aged 52 is one of the inventors largely responsible for the development of the Personal Computer (PC). While working at IBM, he lead the team which developed the system that enables modems and printers to be connected to PCs. He also led the design team that created the 1st gigahertz processor chip, making computers faster and smaller. There are now over 50 million PCs in the world, indispensable to our modern lifestyle. Dr Dean holds 33% of the original IBM patents that form the basis of the PC.

President Barack Obama is globally recognised for many firsts, most notably, the first Black President of the United States. However, it is his innovative use of the internet, the first for any politician that warrants his mention in this column. Arianna Huffington, the editor in chief of the Huffington post says “were it not for the internet, Barack Obama would not be president’. Probably you would disagree, but there is no doubting the way he used the internet to organise people, collect donations, advertise to voters and communicate with people. His groundbreaking use of the internet particularly web 2.0 tools has inspired politicians all over the world.

3 ways you can tap into the potential of the internet

Invent something: The internet is a level playing field for anyone with ideas. This could be inventing new technology, expanding the use of existing technology. Or coming up with a new idea that expands online activities. Take “twitter’ for example. Who would have guessed that a website dedicated to status updates would be considered on of the key PR tools of modern times.

Sell something: Ebay has made a few people millionaires, as internet shopping booms. In 2005, over £21bn was spent shopping online (OFT report 2007). People are now more likely to buy things online than from traditional retail outlets. It is easy to set up an Ebay shop, or if you want to build a brand, you can set up your own e commerce website

Promote something: The rise in the use of social media now makes it easier for you to promote a brand or a message via the internet. Anyone can set up a blog, or a facebook account or use Twitter or You tube. There are a variety of web 2.0 tools available, and if you have something useful to say, you should be saying it on the internet. ENDS We invite questions/comments about this article or the web in general.

If you have any questions about using the internet or social media contact us.

Written by Keno Ogbo, Director, Spiral Web Solutions London, England