Yellow Pages Antarctica

The Internet has changed the way millions of people engage with their peers and associates. Whereas in the past only a relatively small number of people ever became widely known outside their communities, now many of us build up name recognition or visibility in professional communities or industries on an international basis.

It’s a bit disconcerting to think more people in Europe and Asia may know who you are and what you do than in your own home town, and yet those overseas people may extend their professional respect and esteem to you in recognition of your accomplishments. We no longer have to confine our self-images to small geological regions.

In any random industry, such as real estate, one can pluck names from the Internet and learn many things about the people who bear them. For example, Dennis Tamburo has worked in the mortgage brokerage and real estate field for some years. He is known to his colleagues and many strangers alike.

And it should come as no surprise that Dennis Tamburo is an avid golfer, as this information is freely available on the Internet. That is how the electronic medium has changed our lives so much. We can find many amateur and semi-pro golfers about whom we would never have learned had we remained dependent upon print and television sports news.

Your local high school football team’s players may now be listed on many Web sites, statistics and all. Their pictures and even video might appear in multiple places on the Web. Someone like Dennis Tamburo could (if he wished) include footage of his high school glory days on social media sites like Facebook.

The next time you are surfing the Internet and you come across a random person’s Web page or an article about their personal or professional accomplishments, stop to think about all the other people who have shared in that learning experience with you. We have become a much closer global community, almost like we truly are “the family of Man”!