This past weekend a friend of mine got engaged, and while immediate families were informed of these great news that same day (hour?) the rest of us were finding out gradually over the past couple of days. However, the notification to the masses happened today as she changed her Facebook relationship status to engaged. Almost immediately the news spread like wildfire across the internet, across the world. People were calling, texting, e-mailing her within minutes of that status change. It is wild to even think how powerful the social networking sites are in spreading the word; their impact is instantaneous for better or worse. The moment you announce something it becomes available to dozens, hundreds, thousands,…of people across the world who happen to find you “interesting” in one way or another.
For the sake of pure comparison of the advancement of technology and services, let’s go “back in time” some 20 years to 1991 (if you really think about it, this wasn’t that long ago). Imagine if this same event occurred in 1991, how would you find out about it if you lived in another state, country, on another continent? 20 years ago there were no online social networking sites, no Facebook, no Twitter, no [insert your site of choice]…average person had no online social networking concept. In 1991 masses were first introduced to the web browser a piece of software we all use today without giving it much thought. That same year, Internet reached 1 million users which has grown to close to 2 billion today (more on Internet 2010 in numbers). It’s only been 20 years and look were we are today and try to imagine where we will be in another two decades, in 2031 (maybe we will finally see those flying cars and jet-packs). 😉 Possibilities are endless.
Until then we get to use and enjoy what’s available to us today: a simple selection from a drop down menu, clicking on a “save” button which informs everyone and frees up time which can be used to look at that ring again and begin planning the wedding. 🙂 Amazing!