In the past, the world has played host to many great empires, from ancient empires such as that of the Macedonians, founded in 323 BC, to more recent examples such as the British Empire, which was only formally dissolved in the 20th century. Historically speaking, empires have generally consisted of a large area of land with a large group of people united under one ruling state.
If we see the ruling state as the World Wide Web, and take the large number of people as those anywhere in world who have web access, it could be said that the internet is the modern equivalent of an empire. Indeed, given that over three billion people across almost 200 countries use the internet, it could be said that it is actually the largest empire ever assembled.
The Biggest Empire?
The business and technology news website Business Insider listed the ten greatest empires in history. The largest was the British Empire, which at its peak in 1938 covered almost a quarter of the Earth’s landmass and accounted for 458 million people, or around a fifth of the then global population. As we can see, the number of British subjects in the late 1930s has been dwarfed by that of modern-day internet users.
Roles of People in the New Empire
The Oxford Internet Institute, a research organisation at Oxford University, compiles internet data from around the world. The data is then brought to life in wonderful infographics that give useful visual insights into how the internet is being used all across the planet. Where the internet-empire comparison becomes relevant is when we discover what roles internet users play as part of this new empire. As well as social media interactions, personal banking and shopping, internet users are also running businesses online and using online advertising and content marketing to attract new customers.
Membership Management Systems in the New Empire
Due to the enormous size of the ’empire’, businesses need a comprehensive strategy to allow their content to gain traction with their target audience. Companies that understand business, marketing and website creation, such as ofec.co.uk, are on hand to provide the platform for your organisation to stand above the rest. Key to the strategy they offer is the implementation of Membership Management Systems, which enable business leaders to make their operations more efficient.
If we think of the internet as an empire made up of a vast multitude of people, we can further divide the populace according to which websites they use and how they interact with web-based content. This effectively subdivides the world’s internet users into like-minded audience groups which can be targeted by businesses through websites, social media content and advertising campaigns. The use of management systems is a great way of providing targeted content, whether it’s advertising, news or file-sharing platforms, to your audience in an environment you can tailor to meet the needs of the consumer.