The internet has the capacity to incite change in society that is unprecedented. People cannot deny the influence that the connectivity provided by the internet has on the world. The great beauty in the internet is that it is ever changing; it evolves along side its users. The internet’s evolution is reflected in the movement away from the web browser to the use of apps. That is the major point of the Forbes article, “The Web Browser is Dead, Long Live the App.” Apps have proven useful in their ability to make information, entertainment, and a plethora of our needs more accessible than ever before. The functionality of apps can transcend that of the browser because they are more specialized. In addition to being more specialized than that of the traditional websites you would find in your browser they have a relative ease in use that appeals to a more broad audience.
Another change that has occurred through the internet is the use of Bitcoin, “an anonymous, encrypted, government-free online currency”(McMillan, What is Bitcoin). The issue that generally arises with bitcoin is that it is still largely reliant on the financial systems that are already in place. The worth of one bitcoin is measured by how much traditional currency it represents. Average people may find the idea of bitcoin very difficult to wrap their heads around and consider that it is risky to use money that is not backed by the government. On the contrary, some may find the idea of having money that is less restricted the best way to obtain more money and faster. I personally believe that digital currency has the potential to fuel crime as it is less traceable. In “The Fierce Battle for the Soul of Bitcoin,” McMillan provides an example of how financial institutions are already fighting back against bitcoin. Banking regulators put an end to Tradehill, a US bitcoin exchange.
People in power are often threatened by new and innovative things that they feel threaten their hold onto power. Bitcoin does exactly that. Bitcoin is still not well understood by most of the public but the idea of it dismantling systems of finance that have been in place for such a long time might be very scary to people who hold on to their wealth and do not want to see up and comers be a part of their competition.