Attempting to discern what is the greatest thing we ever saw on the Internet has the potential to be one of the main challenges of our generation.
The challenge lies not only in the millions of options to choose from, but also in the constancy and rapidness with which Internet users around the globe upload new content that, almost in a matter of minutes, outshadows what we once thought was the greatest thing ever seen online.
For many the greatest thing on the Internet is a funny video, an interesting blog, a comprehensive website or useful program. Some would even take a holistic approach and say that the greatness of something online lies not only in the thing itself, but also on how it made you feel at the moment and the purpose it served when first encountered.
For me the greatest thing on the Internet is the Internet itself and its capacity to compress time and space in today's globalizing world.
Social networking, information sharing, multisourcing are all phenomenons of our time that allow us to live and participate more actively in the growing global community. And the ability to do that is incredibly exciting.
That said, the greatest thing I ever saw on the Internet was the stream of World Youth Day Madrid 2011, precisely because it allowed all of us who participated in the event to experiment again the vibrant, ecstatic moments we lived as a global community gathered for one common belief. If we include those who did not participate, having the stream online connected millions of people worldwide under the same--network, and that, even by today's demanding standards, is mind-blowing.
Whether we praise or demonize the Internet for its capacities and effects in today's society, whether we like the infinite options the Internet offers us, its ability to produce such powerful moments and circumstances--be it by making us laugh, cry, scream, collaborate with others or share what we know--makes it all the more exciting to live in the XXI century.
Esther Daniela Castillejo
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