if the internet is the answer, what is the question?

I'm often struck by the developments in the internet, because they seem to happen in the blink of an eye. Before I even knew what a blog was, a vast network of bloggers had already transformed the internet. And it continues to change at light speed.

As a supposedly techno-savvy individual, I shudder to think what it would be like if I hadn't been paying attention to the changes over the past few years. But at the same time I don't believe that those who still don't know what a blog is, or even those who rarely use a computer will actually be "left behind" like those selling books like to say. Instead I believe changes will occur that will bring these laggardly folks into the fold, finally acquiring what the internet seems to demand from all of us, that is, our participation.

Before the dot-com bust, one of the big issues was "content". We have the network, but what will we put on it? Obviously _someone_ is going to have to create this stuff, right? People saw the internet as a TV, and webpages as channels. Surely there is room for a few more channels...obviously we were all wrong. To answer the question about content, blogging was born.

It is striking how the advent of blogging has shifted my view of the internet. What was once seen as broadcasting has become something entirely different in a matter of a few years. And the changes are not complete obviously, with much of the world not yet participating. As use of the internet increases, similar paradigm shifts are bound to occur.

What is intriguing to me is that the answer to the question of "content" came from a place no one expected. As the possibilities of the internet are realized, what big questions will it answer?