The Net Impact: Some Amazing Stories from BigTent

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The social impact of Internet has been getting far lesser press than its economic impact. Discussions on this at BigTent, Google's annual event (now on in New Delhi) are eye-opening.
 
Take for example the impact of Internet on education in a country like India. The Internet has a surfeit of content and the average prices of access devices for education are far below commercial ones. The challenge is to reach the bottom of the pyramid. Said Neil D'Souza, founder, Zaya.org, "In education, experience is important. And experience comes from unrestricted bandwidth." Zaya provides supplemental education to children in the age-group of 6 to 13 using a blended learning approach involving teachers and technology. Operational in India, Indonesia, Mongolia, and South Africa, Zaya has many programs running. Neil D'Souza said that at Zaya they developed lightweight battery operated Wi-Fi devices to access content. This made education possible, anytime, anyplace.
 
Geo-tagging confirmed patients using an Android application helped catch the infection trail early on and prevented the spread of the dengue epidemic in the Punjab province of Pakistan.
 
Being able to find one's lost parents after decades is so emotionally touching. This is the story of Saroo Brierley. He said, "My story started 26 years ago. I lived in a slum in a town in India. My father left us when my sister was born. 26 years ago I was uneducated and barely knew about 15 words. Thanks to the Internet, I was united with my family."