Strengthening Communities in the Internet Era To

STRENGTHENING COMMUNITIES IN THE INTERNET ERA 5

StrengtheningCommunities in the Internet Era

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RE:PolicyPaper on Strengthening Communities with the Internet

Themultiple challenges facing communities in the current world demandspeople to renew their urge to improve the quality of life throughcommunity-based platforms. Social issues such as urbanization,health, inequality, and economic growth are critical matters thatrequire appropriate interventions. The contemporary society benefitsconsiderably from the Internet and social networks that provide newopportunities for community development. It is, thus, appropriate toconsider ways through which the communities can take advantage ofcapabilities brought by the Internet. The current society isnetworked and globalized hence, contributing to an increase inpublic engagement towards addressing the social issues affecting thecommunity.

Thepolicy paper on strengthening communities with the internet isimportant in generating appropriate measures and interventions thatcan aid in addressing some of the social problems affecting thesociety. In examining approaches to strengthen the communities’ inthe Internet era, it is necessary to explore the formation of socialcapital. The approach is developed on the need to bridge and bond thesocial networks created by the Internet. In the present social order,humans are more networked and connected in a way that allowsreal-time interactions. The World Wide Web provides numerousopportunities that assist in solving the current social challenges ina faster and effective manner.

Thesisstatement:Strengthening communities in the Internet era calls for theutilization of technology resources to harness the opportunitiesthrough a collective approach that benefits all people.

Indiscussing the dependence of technology in the contemporary society,it is appropriate to examine the behaviors of the users. A shortcheck on trending activities and news reflect how technology hasrevolutionized the way people communicate (Capece &amp Costa, 2013).In fact, it is faster, cheaper, and efficient to access news orinformation about products. The introduction of the World Wide Web in1991, by Tim Berners-Lee, was one of the most crucial innovationsthat catalyzed the creation of other technological applications(Stanish, Levy, Leighton, Berners-Lee, &amp Clark, 2013). Theinvention has made it possible for humans to communicate from remoteareas. Both desktop computers and mobile devices make it easier forpeople to communicate and accomplish other activities such as sharingpublic media through the Internet. Business communication, forinstance, allows clients to order goods or services from onlineplatforms.

Besidesthe business frontier, communities also have an increased opportunityto develop e-related resources in areas such as health, banking, andeducation. In the health sector, for instance, communities can createtechnologies that enhance access to healthcare information andservices. Already, there exist mobile apps that allow users tocommunicate directly to service providers. Mobile phones can addressmultiple social problems through enhanced and efficient communication(Desouza and Kendra 42). It is possible for service providers tocreate apps that are accessible via mobile phones. Currently, healthsolutions are available on cell phones to assist people to accesshealth services faster and efficiently. Mobile financial servicesalso aid in improving literacy in the banking sector. The unbankedpopulation can easily use their cell phones to save or send money.Still, citizens can now access government services in a faster andsuccessful manner hence, the significant reduction in thesocio-economic gaps and improved community participation indecision-making.

Inconclusion, technology resources have great potential to strengthenthe communities in a way that harnesses the creation of solutions tothe myriad of social challenges. With innovation and research,technology resources will assist in lessening global challenges. Itis also expected that more platforms will emerge while some wouldbecome obsolete. We cannot run away from technology but can make itbetter for the benefit of humanity.

References

Capece,G., &amp Costa, R. (2013). The new neighbourhood in the internetera: Network communities serving local communities. Behaviour&amp Information Technology,32(5),438-448.

Desouza,K. C., &amp Kendra, S. L., (2014). Bigdata for social innovation.Stanford Social Innovation Review. Retrieved fromhttps://ssir.org/articles/entry/big_data_for_social_innovation

Stanish,C. S., Levy, T., Leighton, T., Berners-Lee, T., &amp Clark, D. D.(2013). The evolution of the Internet: Emerging challenges andopportunities.