How to survive the Information Age

Comparing the world barely half a century ago to this present time, you get to see a massive difference. Even those of the older generation can’t believe their eyes at how rapid things are moving. Indeed things are moving fast and the pace doesn’t seem to slow down any time soon. One of the greatest inventions I view to be created by man is the internet. Who would ever have thought that one day, we would be able to do anything from trade and commerce, banking to learning on a platform we can’t physically see? The internet is gradually eliminating tangible structures and that’s why this era we live in is dubbed the ‘Information Age.’

The cyber space is the hub for the largest volume of information. It’s just a button away thanks to Google.com, the world’s largest search engine. Then there’s Wikipedia, the world’s biggest Encyclopaedia that has over 60 million pieces of information. It’s such that a fellow named Uchendu, whom I’ve mentioned previously once exclaimed that “Wikipedia is the internet in itself.” Certainly the Encyclopaedia Britannica we have known for ages doesn’t have such volume. Another pile driver in this crazy and surreal ‘Information Age’ is social media. The Likes of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, WhatsApp, BBM, WeChat and a host of others have changed how we communicate.

All these advancements in Information Technology are supposed to be to our advantage, making life easier and the world better but for everything that is good, there’s always going to be a bad side. Increased activity in the cyber space has led to cyber crime and even terrorism so much that government and security agencies have a hard time in tracking the culprits. Many people keep being defrauded over the internet by the ‘yahoo boys’ meaning billions of dollars are siphoned yearly from the internet. This has led to fear on the path of internet users from doing business online. Then there are those who delight in spreading rumours. It amazes me how someone will wake up one morning and decide he wants to inflict fear on people by spreading false information of something that doesn’t exist. This is particular when we see broadcasts of one new outbreak of disease, or death of someone that isn’t confirmed. These details spread so fast like wild fire and the danger is many will be misinformed leading people to doing what they are not supposed to do. The bad of the internet is indeed very fatal and you can probably understand why the National Assembly wanted to ban the use of social media in Nigeria but we all need unhindered freedom of information.

Does the terrible evil of the internet mean we shy away from using it? Absolutely not. A day can hardly go by without doing something over the internet, whether we are consciously aware or not. The internet is here to stay and its staying for good. Now how do we survive the craze of the internet and avoid ourselves from being victims of its evil? Firstly because the internet is accessible from any part of the world, whatever is posted can be seen by anyone you don’t know. Therefore we must be careful about the kind of content we post online. It’s best to avoid saying things about your personal life on social media as it could draw unknown attention. Change the privacy settings on who gets to view your content on any social media platform you belong to.  Try as much as possible not to expose your personal details on many websites. Make sure the website you are visiting is verified. Fraudsters use sites that are close to verified ones to draw attention but closer observation and scrutiny will show that fraudsters leave traces behind. Don’t just click any link you see. Many are spam and clicking them exposes your details. Ensure you cross check broadcasts that are sent to you. Before sending it to another person, verify it. Check Google to confirm if it’s correct or not, create a message that the news is false and broadcast it to others before the wrong news creates the wrong impression.

Internet evils will continue to exist but rather than be victims of it we can reduce it by taking the right steps. When we do, we would enjoy the internet without fear and see that the ‘Information Age’ is a blessing and not a curse.

I hope you have enjoyed reading this post, kindly leave your comments below. Thanks.

*All photos sourced randomly from Google Images.                          

Hard Work: A New Year Resolution

It’s another new year and I’m sure we’ve all made one or two resolutions in improving ourselves. As the world advances in science and technology, we should see improvement in living standards but its chaos everywhere. From increased crime and murder rates to terrorism, the whole world is in a mess and its becoming difficult to fit in.

Nigeria is producing many graduates today than ever before but the labour market is struggling to accommodate these many graduates with sound educational records. Well since we all can’t get white collar jobs, entrepreneurship is the new wave. Create the job for yourself and make a living. That’s easier said than done. One big problem Nigerian entrepreneurs have is access to capital funds even I am not excluded from that list. The government has created some programmes in giving grants and loans to assist entrepreneurial development but sadly it hasn’t reached up to 50% of the youths that make up the bulk of Nigeria’s population.

As Nigerians who struggle with everyday living, we are swayed by the success of others who are entrepreneurs. We attempt to copy them but the effort to break even fails. Why is that? It’s very simple: we don’t put enough hard work into our efforts.

Linda Ikeji is one of the pioneer bloggers in Nigeria and today she is a celebrity because her blog is a major source of news and one of the most read websites in Nigeria. Her blog is reportedly worth US$5 million. Her fame has led to many blogs been opened and the surprising part is these random bloggers are styling their blog after Linda’s. There is no way you would succeed. You must have something unique about your blog otherwise you would be blown by the wind. Let’s even assume people are copying Linda’s style, how many people have been consistent with blogging? It comes at the huge cost of sacrificing time and effort which many are not doing.

A blogger by the name Lolade has been blogging consistently for a year every Wednesday, never missing the date. The result is she has been invited to write on other blogs and her name is going all over the corners. It won’t be long when she starts earning a fortune from her writings. If she wasn’t consistent, no one would notice her.

Many youths want to go into music and playing football because it an avenue to make fast money. Recordings of many up and coming artists are terrible because they don’t know the basics and rudiments of music. They are not ready to take time and read books to develop their skill or talent. The likes of Tuface Idibia and P-square are still around after many years because they spent lots of hours in the studio perfecting their tracks and it ends up been a hit across all age groups.

We want to play football but are not ready to spend those many hours watching video clips and training to develop that skill. Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi aren’t the best in world just for nothing. They consistently train ahead of other team mates and that’s why we see one new piece of skill each time. Their consistence in developing themselves has made them the mega stars they are.

A fellow by the name Uchendu always had one company in mind he wanted to work for so he tailored his CV towards the requirements of the company by attending trainings, workshops and doing internship in relevant companies. Today Uche got his dream job by spending money he didn’t have and other resources to get what he wanted. Are you ready to spend and commit what you don’t have to make that dream come alive?

Hard work, getting well informed and showing commitment to what you love doing can make a difference. If you put all effort into what you dream of becoming, you will surely reap the rewards someday. It’s a long road filled with twist and turns but it’s only a matter of time when the breakthrough comes. Take that step to make your New Year resolution in working harder at your passion and you are sure to be on your way to fame and fortune.

I hope you have enjoyed reading this post, kindly leave your comments below. Thanks.

*All photos sourced randomly from Google Images.