A few days ago, I lost my Internet connection when I got home from work. Though it was for just one day, I felt empty. I could not check my mails, read the news headline, check on my friends or just kill sometime on the internet. It so entrenched I my daily lifestyle that even when I am not checking for something important, have to connect. Come to think of it, it only after I have read my e-mails that I could tell there’s nothing important to track. After all, that’s mostly how I get connected to the rest of the world these days.

The younger generation cannot truly appreciate how the internet has enhanced our live styles and I don’t blame them, because we have all gotten used to the web as if it began many decades ago. Yet, It was not long ago when we could not bank online, study and get degree online, do researches and seminars, buy products, exchange e-mails, blog, just to mention a few. I cannot imagine how life went on smoothly those days without internet. But it did, mainly because we didn’t know better

As it is today, there’s no limiting the Internet as the information super highway. So much has been gained, so much is being gained and so much more of life endeavors could be enhanced through the use of the Web.  I believe we are just getting a glimpse or feel of what is yet to come.  I have little doubt that how we live our lives in the future may be dictated by accessibility of information through the internet. The future generation will even delve deeper up, coming up with more innovative ideas and come. There internet is one phenomenon with infinite possibilities.

Such infinite possibilities are reflected in the increasing emergence of social networks like MySpace, facebook, twitter, etc. Connections and sharing have turned out to be the things of the day.  People are connecting and socializing with friends, colleagues, family member and other distance people who share the same interests. Users interact over the internet and exchange e-mail, instant messaging, etc. Sharing of ideas, activities, events, and interests with others has led to much more things than the inventors of social media sites may have intended.

However, I believe we are yet to see the limits of social networking if there is any. More and more sites and businesses are getting creative. Networking could go much further than posting on your walls, sharing what you are doing, reconnecting with lost friends or connecting with business partners. Surely, if you use your imagination, you’ll agree with me that getting involved in social networking has other benefits that are not being reaped fully. For instance, consumers may take charge of quality of services. If Verizon network insists on not improving its customer services, users may join together to avoid their services.

What about deals?  People should not limit what they share to just information and services. Everyone wants a deal, a good deal. There’s little doubt that no matter how rich you are, there’s the tendency you’ll want to save money. So there’s nothing wrong with desiring deals or even haggling when it’s possible. After all, that may account for how some people got their riches to begin with. Recently, there has been an upsurge of deals and auction sites. Most of these price comparison sites just bring you ads in the name of deals. People are showing more interest in social media sites because they rather prefer not to be barraged with ads. So we look to auction sites like eBay for direct deals. However, what we get are items listed by seller who have agreed to give up 10% of whatever the final price of their item to whenever sold. There’s the consideration of how much you can trust the picture you see or the description you read. You be the judge.

Another thing we tend to ignore sometimes is how someone else may be in dire need of that item we don’t care about any more. In other words, someone’s trash may be someone else’s gold. You may consider swapping or barter. What about users having a say on the public? Look at www.dealsaround.com. I believe these are the ideas behind the its creation.  When you find the best deal on something, you may post your own deals, follow leads and even share opinions on good and bad deals. How about comparing deals yourselves instead of having another site with vested instead do it for you. Isn’t that a great way of further harnessing the benefits of social networking?