The Internet is more than just a tool that can be used for checking email, playing games, or watching movies. It is the global information superhighway, and to understand the depth of this statement, think of the power of knowledge, and what it allows you to do, particularly when this knowledge is applied. For much of human history, even during the Industrial Age, information was traditionally held by an elite few. When one studies ancient civilizations, whether it is China, Egypt, Rome, Greece, or the Mayans, what one inevitably finds is that most ancient civilizations had what was called a “scribe class.”
While the members of this class would have different names dependent on the civilization, they all played the same basic role, and this role was to “safeguard and discover knowledge, and to interpret this knowledge for the masses.” In most ancient civilizations, this scribe class was extremely powerful, and they were the only people who were allowed to read and write. In fact, much of our knowledge of ancient civilizations comes through these groups. In many cases, while this group didn't appear to be more powerful than the ruling class on the surface, behind closed doors, they were often the most powerful members of society, for they were the only group who held access to information.
Even in primitive societies, the Shaman or Medicine Man is often considered to be the most valuable member of the community. Why is this? The answer is because this individual has access to information, data that can mean the difference between life and death. The advent of the printing press made it easier for more people to access knowledge, but even then, the knowledge was still limited to an elite few. During the Renaissance and Enlightenment, many of the advances made in science, history, and technology where made by those who were able to most easily access and utilize all the available information.
The Renaissance and Enlightenment gave rise to the idea of the college or university, a center of learning where students where able to learn a skill which they could then use to contribute to society. While the university system has existed to some degree since antiquity, it was during the age of Enlightenment that these institutions begin to grow in number. Today, some of the most prestigious universities in the world are those that were founded during the age of Enlightenment. For centuries, and even today, only the wealthy and prominent could send their children to these institutions of learning, and once they graduated, these students got the best jobs with the most lucrative salaries and benefits. These graduates became the “scribes” of the Industrial Age.
Many of these Ivy League schools were on the cutting edge of research and development, as well as technology. The problem is, they were some of the few institutions which had access to important information, and those who wanted access to this information had to pay a high price to get it. With the rise of the Internet, the control and regulation of information has changed forever. Now, anyone who is looking for information on any subject can find info on this subject within a matter of seconds. All they need to do is use a search engine like Google or Yahoo.
For almost all of human history, there has been a major imbalance when it comes to the topic of Information Asymmetry. Information Asymmetry is a fancy word which is used to denote the differences in information that one group has versus another group. The basic idea is that the group who has the most information will have more control over the group that doesn't. For example, in most ancient civilizations, the scribe class had virtually 100% Information Asymmetry, meaning they had access to all knowledge while the general population had access to none. Even today, most professionals such as lawyers, doctors, engineers, and other specialists have a very high level of Information Asymmetry in comparison to the general public, which is the reason why they tend to be wealthier with higher incomes.
The point I'm making here is that the Internet is the changing the face of all this. Instead of information being restricted to the hands of an elite few, it has now been made cheaply available for anyone to access. What this means is that those individuals who are able to separate garbage information from valuable information, and who are able to use this information in a way that enhances their careers or lives, will have the ultimate advantage over those who don't.