It is very amusing to note that the world is becoming a smaller place with every passing day. Gone are the days when Granny used to refer to the United States of America as a far-away land. Any place which was out of our reach was a mystery land, and the inhabitants of those places were no better than aliens. Thanks to technology, now Granny has a Facebook account and she has made a new friend, a French lady, and they both help each other out in Farmville! When I see her planting her virtual tomatoes and harvesting her miniature plants, chatting with her friend from a ‘far-away’ land, I can only smile and wonder at the prowess of technology.
Yet another thing which caught my fancy was a new application on the web. I was browsing through various websites on the internet, and the moment I clicked on this page, a tiny flag of India popped up in a box at the corner of the page. That is when I was enlightened about Flag counter. As the name suggests, Flag counter keeps a track of the nationalities of all the people who visit a particular site. At first, I was amused by the concept of Flag counter. So I decided to dig deeper and find out more about it.
It is quite evident that I did not expect what I saw. There were many people who were using a Flag counter and were delighted with it. A Flag counter was given the utmost importance on a webpage. When I got to know how a Flag counter works, rather, how efficiently it works, I have to admit that I was impressed.
Flag counter updates itself automatically. It is probably the most convenient way of connecting to the world. There is nothing in particular that you need to do. Flag counter does everything for you. The idea behind such a venture is certain worthy of accolades.
No Boundaries:
Technology has played a major role in dissolving or destroying all the boundaries of nation, race, caste, creed and religion. In the real world, you will have to undergo various complicated formalities before you set your foot on a foreign soil. However, all it takes is a click of the “Accept” button on Facebook to welcome a foreign person into your world. I still remember the first time I added a few people, who were my colleagues at my work place, on my Facebook account. They all were residents of Liverpool, United Kingdom and had come to India for a short while to attend some business meetings. Ever since that day, they have been an active part of my festivals and my holidays, and they rejoice in the glory of Diwali and bask in the warmth of Durga Puja, all on my Facebook page! And I too get a fair share of their happiness on Christmas and New Year. For all the people who have a cynical opinion about social networking sites, I would recommend them to be a part of my page and experience the beauty of unity in diversity in the literal sense. Social media and networking sites are doing things which should ideally have been done by the government and law.
Freedom of Expression:
Technology has given us a wonderful platform, in the form of networking sites, to exercise our fundamental rights, especially ‘freedom of speech’. Doing so in the so-called ideal forum might lead to injuries caused by tear-gas and public thrashings. Social media gives us the opportunity to highlight the need of the hour. For instance, many people came together from all across the world to express their disgust about the incessant rapes in New Delhi. They all came under one roof to voice their opinions. Imagine, had this virtual platform been a real one, we would have been stronger than the tsunami and we would have fought for justice till the very end. It’s true that these opinions do not lead us anywhere; we do not have the power to change our laws on our own. But the seed has been sown. The spirit of unity and justice reflect on all the outrageous atrocities which were evoked by the horrific event.
Technology has invoked numerous feelings in us- we all share our joys and sorrows on the same platform, we all stand together to fight against the wrong done to an individual whom we do not know personally. I guess this is what the term “universal brotherhood” means.
