Privilege to Mandate
Half of Americans lack the reliable internet access it takes to start a business in 2021. Biden's infrastructure plan could change that…
Not only did Botkin's digital strategy instantly lead to increased monthly sales and quicker payments compared with the original owner, he landed crucial six-figure investment to purchase the business by sharing his pitch on Twitter.
Our global culture is endlessly growth-led. Now, no true business should maintain consistent revenues but must infinitely expand by reaching global consumers. The internet has been important to the growth of small businesses that adopted it; now it appears globalization is making the internet a requirement for the existence of small businesses.
The old magic of the internet was that it was a privilege to use, a delight that one can connect with others from so far away. But soon it will be institutionalized, and those who don’t use the internet will be called “poverty-stricken” or “Luddites”. They will be cut off from making businesses because they naïvely supposed they didn’t need this technological privilege.
The internet is transforming into an institution, a mandate, and an entitlement.
“Broadband internet is the new electricity,” the Biden administration says in its plan to invest $100 billion in improving American connectivity.