Video Killed the Radio Star

A phone ringing 30 odd years back in a village home was indeed a moment to remember. I recall someone telling us of this incident in a village in Goa where the phone kept ringing in this house throughout the day. There was no one at home, and the annoyed neighbor walked up to the gate of the house and shouts out 'No one is home, please call back later.' The phone stopped ringing. Our friendly neighbor was very happy that he conveyed his message across, only to be more annoyed when the phone rang again.

What many of us saw as a potentially efficient and sure way of keeping in touch with the world, for me took off sometime in 2007. It brings to mind the older forms of communication like the telephone, the television, and the radio which had their day in the sun and at some point held them as 'Kings of their time'. I realize that anyone who owned any or all of these were considered to be rich and well to do.

Then came the internet boom. Who would have guessed that this would revolutionize the world and with each passing day it gets better. With the internet rearing its pretty little head everywhere, it has found its way to us through our computers, phones, cameras, USB devices and will probably come to us in places we least expect very soon. I must say that I have tried to keep up with the technology race as much as possible when it suits my budget of course. My habit of losing phones has put me in an elite category known for losing phones. But my love for gadgets gives me the opportunity to upgrade my phones every once in a while.

As we all know, with the internet came so much more. Our race, a highly intelligent one I might add, moved into education, gaming, shopping, location, reservations. Today anything can be obtained using the internet just by sitting at home.

The biggest players of all are Social Networking sites. Back when it kicked off, I refused to get in. I used to see my manager continuously on his phone smiling to himself or laughing out loud at something he was reading or doing on his phone. I used to wonder what makes him laugh and keeps him glued to his phone so much. With the internet being a lifeline at home, I got to know about Orkut at that time and that’s when I got in. But even until then, it was not addictive. My boss suggested that I get on to Facebook mainly because of the coverage. When I did, I saw the difference.

Now with numerous free-to-use messenger apps available, the most popular being WhatsApp, communication and social networking have moved to a whole new level. The world has gotten smaller and you can speak to anyone sitting on the other end of the globe by the click of a button or a voice command. We sure have come a long way.

The popular track from 1980 'Video killed the Radio Star' by The Buggles, sure said it as it happened. Today, I cannot say who is going to kill which Star, but the race is on and I can't wait. I, for one, am enjoying it! Happy social networking everyone!