Google is setting up their base in Kenya (read the full story here ). Now that's what is called making the real difference in the world. Really! They have money and so do others, but Google, so early in its life-span, is trying to change the world for better in its own innovative way.One of my colleagues, a couple of years earlier had told me about this display in the Google reception office which had a 3-D globe on the screen and the small points of light that were blinking at various places. These light-points illuminated the places around the world where people were using Google search at that instant. I remember he told me what he was told about Africa looking at the display, it was indeed the dark continent with very little light emanating from it. When I saw this display myself, it was so surreal. With Internet penetration hardly anything, this was but natural to observe.
But the interesting part is not just observing and pondering but taking action. Setting up of a Kenyan office is indeed a concrete step toward making technology accessible to all, irrespective of geography, infrastructure, policy and various other kinds of issues. It strengthens my belief that technology (and especially Internet) is (and has the potential of) bridging numerous barriers that was not possible earlier.
