I ran across a story not long ago that is a shining example of the exhaustive reach of the internet. A company in Turkey is producing donkey-mounted solar panels that can be used to power devices and run lights1. Fascinating.
Image from the Hurriyet Daily News.
A solar panel producer in western Turkey has said recent international media coverage of their “plug-and-play donkey” project proved that they are on the right track.
BBC News reported on June 24 that sheepherders in western Turkey have now equipped their donkeys to cart around solar panels that will enable them to be connected 24/7.
Our own experiences always influence our view of things. As a result we tend to think about accessing the internet as common when that isn’t necessarily the case. For example, over 60% of phones in the world are ‘dumb phones,’ or ‘feature phones.’ Still, those users can connect to services like Facebook and Twitter via a text-only interface2.
Image from Quartz.
It’s wild to think about: we are moving towards a world where everyone has access to almost unlimited amounts of information on almost every subject. There have been roadblocks (like governments limiting access) and there will be more, but the direction we are headed is towards ubiquitous access. Eric Schmidt (CEO of Google) believes that the entire world will be connected by 20203.
Like any type of progression, there will be good, bad and ugly. What we know for sure is that it’s happening.
1. Read the entire article about the “The Plug-and-Play Solar Pack” for donkeys here.2. Read the full article about dumb-phones and internet access on Quartz’s website.3. You can read the full article about Eric Schmidt’s prediction on CNET.
