Shouldn’t Everybody Be on the Internet? Yes!

Almost 20 years ago, a class of fifth grade students from Helena, Montana produced a PSA video about the future-changing possibilities of the Internet. When this PSA was shot in 1995, only 0.4% of the world's current population (16 million people) used the Internet. Now, almost 39% of the world is online, making this video scary accurate!

Hey. Why Should I Be on the Internet?

The Internet Will Be Our Telephone, Television, Shopping Center, and Workplace
This prediction was forward thinking for 1995 when floppy disks were the standard. Twenty years and an Internet connection can provide a user with all of these conveniences.

• Telephone: The landline phone that was so prevalent in 1995 is steadily losing ground to phone-over-the-Internet services like VoIP. This is especially true for businesses, with the most recent data showing that 79% of American companies use VoIP phones at one location.
• Television: Streaming TV over the Internet with services like YouTube, Netflix, and Hulu are now a common sight in living rooms. This is cutting into the profits of traditional cable providers as more people "cut the cord."
• Shopping Center: The explosive growth of online retail websites like Amazon, the popularity of shopping with mobile devices, and the stagnant sales of brick and mortar retailers like Wal-Mart and Best Buy (that dominated the 90's), are all testimony to how much people prefer shopping online.
• Workplace: The Internet has changed the way we do business. In 1995, the Internet was new and many small businesses where just learning about the importance of having a website. Now, it's virtually impossible to do business without the Internet, and thanks to remote networking tools, workers can make the Internet their workplace, and work from anywhere.

You can learn more about how the Internet can streamline your operations with technology like VoIP, streaming media, online shopping, and remote networking by calling Ferrum Technology Services at (847) 697-3282.

I Even Found a Recipe for Cat Food Cupcakes!
Yes, even in 1995 cats dominated the Internet.

Well, By the Time I'm in College...
The young girl in the red sweater touting the potential of the Internet is Marnee Banks. Marnee and all of her classmates are now past college age and they're holding down careers as young professionals in their thirties. Marnee's generation had a unique experience with the Internet. When they were 5th graders, Windows 95 was new, and they used Microsoft Word 98 to write their senior English paper.

In 2001, the class from Helena went to college and was introduced to Windows XP. During the Fall semester of 2001, 8.6% of the world was using the Internet, and these kids had a bright future as the first generation entering the workforce that grew up with the Internet. Since then, Marnee has gone on to become a TV reporter covering Montana state politics, and her classmates use the Internet in their various jobs. In 2012, The Atlantic caught up with the kids of the PSA Internet video (which boasts 1.4 million views on YouTube), and yes, all of them are on the Internet.