Over the past decade, the Internet has changed our lives in ways we could have never imagined. Earlier this week, Google launched real-time search, allowing users to search and access content at the very instant that it is uploaded to the web.
The real-time search feature includes headlines from news and blogs, as well as content from social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook. There are so many reasons why this is useful and appealing, some of which I will go over in this article, but the bottom line is the real-time web keeps us well informed at all times and allows us stay connected with the world around us. Here are five ways that the real-time web plays a very important part in our every day lives.
#5. Live Traffic Updates
This is extremely useful for people like me, in particular, that have a long commute to work or school every day. I live about about 45 miles from school, and I know better than to leave my house in the morning before picking up my MyTouch Google phone and checking how traffic is looking on the 101. My phone can calculate exactly how long my commute will take based on current traffic conditions, and help me decide either what time I need to leave, or to just sleep in until traffic dies down when there’s absolutely no way I’ll make it on time anyway.
I would much rather be getting that extra sleep than burning gas and sitting through stop-and-go traffic for hours on end, and real-time web makes that luxury possible.
#4. Breaking News and Disasters
This is arguably one of the most important aspects of the real-time web. It allows us to inform masses of people everywhere of breaking news and disasters such as a growing fire, an upcoming storm, or earthquake, where every second counts. I remember every time a wildfire hit San Diego (several times within the past few years) my family and I were glued to the TV awaiting evacuation orders for our area. I’m sure real-time media would have also been useful during those times for relatives of San Diegans everywhere who wanted to know whether or not their loved ones were safe.
#3. Life-Streaming
To “lifestream” is to create an online record of one’s daily activities, via direct video feed or aggregating one’s online content in the form of blog posts, social network updates, and online photos, as defined by Word Spy. Remember what life was like before social networking sites like Myspace, Facebook, and Twitter? Remember when we actually had to call people to find out what they were doing? Not anymore. According to Facebook statistics, 35 million users update their status at least once per day, 40% of whom are within the age range of 18-24. People use these sites to upload their current thoughts, plans, and even information about upcoming events. No need to print paper invitations, just send a Facebook invite to all your friends to organize your next big event.
This means our generation can pretty know exactly what all our friends are doing or thinking on any given day simply by logging in. Which leads us to #2.
#2. Celeb Gossip
Now we’re getting to the really juicy stuff. Whether we want to know about how many women Tiger is up to now,
Lady Gaga’s new outfit,
or whatever it is, real-time social media will never fail to keep us updated. In many ways, social media informs us of the latest gossip in ways that the traditional media can’t even deliver. Why? Because regular people just like us are the ones reporting. We don’t have to watch what we say or follow any kind of protocol or procedure like they do. When news of Michael Jackson’s death hit, Twitter servers actually crashed due to the surge of Tweets that followed. In an article in the UK Sunday Times, India Knight describes how she got news of MJ’s death via Twitter much before the media would confirm it. She went on to say, “Twitter is an extraordinary thing which we should all feel privileged to be able to access: a snapshot of the global consciousness at any given moment, whether you’re interested in Jackson or Iran or bee-keeping, with information, opinion and emotion thrown in.”
India put it into words perfectly. Social networking gives us the ability to access “a snapshot of the global consciousness at any given moment” and allows us to relate to our peers (or even celebrities) on a level that was never before possible.
Are you ready for #1? Drum roll, pleeeeease!
#1. Streaming Sports Games
You got it, #1 on our list is being able to stream sports games anytime, anywhere. Now you can go to church or run all your Sunday errands without the sacrifice of missing a football game. You can watch the whole thing REAL-TIME from your laptop or even your cell phone.
No need to miss late night classes to watch the basketball game because you can do both at once. I can’t count how many times I’ve read a Facebook status of someone whining about how they would be forced to stream the game over their phone because they have to go to class, or even had someone make an announcement about game updates right in the middle of a lecture. Ridiculous, I know, but it just goes to show how much the real-time web has spoiled us and mixed up our priorities. Not that I’m complaining or anything.
So there you have it. Whether for informative purposes, convenience, or simply entertainment, the real-time web has definitely become an integral part of life. It’s nearly impossible to even imagine what more technology will have to offer us in the near future.
Mike Frangos 