Why you should not be offline

Paying for data in Nigeria can be annoyingly expensive and you most likely won’t get unlimited data. However, I don’t think it’s enough reason to be offline in this day and time, unless we want to go back to the 'stone age'.

Funny adaptation of stone age phone by Lilly Higgins

Technology plays a vital role in business, planning projects and social activities. Over the years businesses have become dependent on technology. Almost all businesses and industries around the world are using computers and a more efficient way to enjoy the use of technology is by being online.The internet has made connecting with people far off seamless and easy. No matter how small your business is, it can be reached from anywhere in the world. Internet gives you a wider audience.

With cloud computing, moving of data, accessing data, processing data is easy. You can have all your documents, resources on whatever device you want to use without transferring files manually. With centralized hosting of business applications, word processing can be faster and we can have multiple people collaborating on one document together. Time is saved because work flow process is sped up. Digital filing systems save space, paper and printing costs. The use of computer systems allow corrections to be made instantly. Resources like electronic files and access to information technology are available with the click of a button.

Meetings can be held in different parts of the world at the same time yielding wonderful results you probably won’t have gotten if you all had to travel down  (this is not to discard physical meetings though).

Internet has helped improve communication on different levels. Socially and also in business with different instant messaging apps and emails. Delivery of messages are real time.

With the internet, you can shop all over the world. You don’t have to travel physically to China to buy things. You can pay online, get reviews of products before purchase, get seller information. You can in return, sell online and make money for yourself. You can make money transfers without going to the bank. Whatever you can think of trading or whatever services you can require, there’s a 99% chance it’s online.

You can get information at anytime, the internet is available 24/7 and you don’t have to wait for “office hours” to get necessary information you need.

With online streaming companies, you can watch tv shows without using up your physical hard disk space or buying CD’s that can break or scratch. Also applicable to music applications. Your pictures and videos don’t have to be lost anymore.

It’s the norm of the 21st century to be online. The only reason you should be offline is to rest and take a break from all the overwhelming things of the world but having a business that isn’t online is simply killing yourself. Working on a project without online resources is not helping either.

*Some Internet service providers do offer unlimited (for as low as 9,500/month) especially in Lagos state. The internet would help you with your research if you are interested ;)*