Of course we know that Internet usage is growing but do we really comprehend how much and how fast? According to CNN, October 2006 is a mammoth milestone month. The official number of Web sites on the Internet has reached 100 million. Here's what that looks like in graph form:
Not that you need a graph, of course. I'm just giving you one because us Diffusion of Innovations students have never seen one quite like this!
The data comes from Netcraft, an Internet services com- pany. This year's growth, which accounts for more than a quarter of all sites, has been fueled by the availability of free and low-cost services for creating blogs (who us?) and Web sites. The World Wide Web has doubled in size since May 2004, when the number hit 50 million.
Therefore, with my astute gift of perception, I think we (the Church) should be paying attention. But I could be wrong. I mean this has happened before. You know with the printing press. Some people think it changed a few things.
How long before we each have our own virtual web presence as well as a r/l one, I wonder?
Yes, exactly. And with the drive towards virtual presence comes the early adopters and the late comers. One of the purposes of this blog is too encourage the Church to embrace and promote its own virtual presence earlier rather than later.