Using your powers for good not evil :: Working for the greater good

A Japanese civil servant was demoted recently for looking at porn more than 780,000 times while at work over a nine-month period. What surprises me most about this story is that no one noticed any drop in his productivity. I guess this is a unifying global experience of working for the government…it’s bloody cushy.

Anyway, the point of mentioning this is a lead into a discussion about using your abilities for good and not evil. There is a bunch of time being wasted our there, in businesses and in our individual lives. The internet is providing us with new ways to participate in the global consciousness and the human learning experience.

So are you going to be spammer or a supporter?

First of all, what’s the difference? Well I think passion and purpose are the key. Are you setting up your online store because you have a passion for what you do? Or do you think there is quick buck to be made out of uneducated internet users?

If you fit into the latter category, watch out. As parts of us start to exist online our identities begin to take a more permanent and accessible existence through the various social networks online. Scammers who used to set up businesses then move towns when the public cottoned on, are going to find this a more challenging task as people begin to discuss and review everything you do.

There are so many infinite possibilities with the web for us to make a difference, and I really believe the world is going to change through global access to the internet. Remember a time when people would take to the streets and protest and people in power would get really nervous? Now, the momentum off mass demonstration effecting change has largely passed and so a lot of people who aren't involved in online communities have begun to feel a sense of helplessness as a response to their situation. But you can change the world. And I'm not exaggerating when I say ‘the world’.

The internet is now providing people the tools to communicate, rally, exchange information and governments are afraid. Why do you think China has spent so much money on preventing their citizens from accessing the global web? It’s a method of control. Imagine if every Tibetan had a camera, a website and the power to broadcast. The same way that exposing a dodgy company on A Current Affair can bring them down, individuals are able to be broadcasters of news with online access.

They (like the rest of us pushing this 'the web is the futer stuff') know the power of the internet to revolutionise the way people think, not just about you and your business, but about themselves.

Last week the World Wide Web turned 15 years old. It was only 15 years ago that "Knock knock…who's there…Google" didn't have a punch line. Take a moment to ponder that! What incredible advances we have had because populations across the globe have shared ideas.

So where do you come in as a small business and a user of the web? I would encourage you to read and be involved in online communities. These people are your customers, they're your future and they're your ideas. I would say enrich the internet with your knowledge and passion for what you do. Do not exploit your audience. There are over 165 millions sites on the internet, if anything, there is choice, make sure you're the best choice. I would say that you should contribute to world by sharing what you know on the internet and with other people. In sharing what you do you'll be enriching the global consciousness and in exchange you'll get loyalty, customers and ideas.

Do this, and you will change the world.