What Can I Do With The Internet?

Here at Blend, we’re not content with the ordinary – which is why I’m issuing a challenge to myself today to see what I can really do with the internet. Up until now, it’s been great for checking the day’s news in The New York Times, keeping up with friends and colleagues on Facebook and LinkedIn, and ordering more pants than I’ll ever need to wear. But, surely there must be more to the internet than that…right?

Over the course of the next year or so, I’m going to be doing some pretty strange things in my attempts to grasp the true power of the internet.

Starting today, I’m going to shift half of my academic curriculum to the online courseware of MIT, Stanford, and Yale through their intriguing virtual offerings. Of course, while I won’t receive any credit for watching 200 hours of lectures on iTunes U, I have a hunch that it’s probably worth the time investment anyways.

The second part of my new and virtual curriculum will consist of a rather unique plan that I’ve devised almost entirely because I’m curious to see if it will actually work. As you’re likely aware, TED’s arsenal of world-changing talks are beyond the description of adjectives themselves. There simply isn’t a word within the confines of the English language that suits the task of encapsulating the unique nature of TED inside the crisp punctuality of a single arrangement of letters. But, being the entrepreneurially-minded being that I am, I’ll call it “mind-blooming” for now. In my next year of academic exploration, I’m going to see how much I can learn from a handful of my favorite speakers from TED by discovering ways to connect with them via the power of social media. I’ll post updates from time to time sharing my progress alongside some tips to get in touch with virtually anyone through the infinite network that is the internet. The goal? To explore the ways in which the internet has eliminated boundaries to communication, meet some of the most interesting people on the planet, and learn more things than I’ve ever imagined.

As interesting as it may be, however, academics will only make up a tiny fraction of my year-long plugged-in adventure. In the months ahead, I’ll try to build an army of experts to guide my decisions about everything from fashion to food. Why can’t I have Armani’s designers pick out my wardrobe and Gordon Ramsey craft my dinner recipe? I’ll start something on YouTube and see where it goes. (I promise I won’t put on weight and fall off of a table mid-note…). Perhaps I’ll even crowdsource my daily surfing.

For the next year, I’ll be searching for ways to Blend It Better and I’d love for you to be a part of it. If you’d like to join in my adventure, just send me an e-mail and we’ll work together to tackle all of the quirky and interesting ways to use the internet that (until today) have been confined to the closing ‘futuristic’ pages of WIRED magazine.

• By Patrick Widen

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About The Author

Patrick Widen

Patrick began his career in design at the age of twelve, later starting his design firm, Foozoo Design, while still a senior in high school. In the rebellious years of his youth, he virtually ignored his high school curriculum in favor of pursuing his own academic career in marketing, psychology, and design. 400 books, three companies, and a cocktail of interesting experiences later he opened the doors of Blend to help companies dive into design and create products, services, and experiences that make people smile. When he's not working, Patrick is also student at Vanderbilt where he is exploring the connections between neuroscience, design, marketing, and economics. It is his hope that through these connections he will soon begin to find the answers to the questions that he believes will change the world for the better and make each and every inch of it a better place for the people that live there.