WELCOME TO MARVEL SYSTEM

VIRTUAL IS ACTUAL

By: Mian Waqar_ul_Islam,

+92-300-4102774 (mianwaqarpk@hotmail.com)

Presume, you are being served with a cup that contains white fluid essence (gives the impression of milk but not definite) in an unusual ceremonial event of your admiring, loving and caring friend. He/she is reserved for the moment (e.g. unseen fun). You are merely confused that it is a cup of milk or something else looks like. A question (in condition) arises that don’t taste, don’t smell, don’t ask, and just guess. What are you going to drink? Is it really a cup of milk or something masked in a cup as a milky thing? What………..????? You are confused, puzzled and mystified. You are thinking to hit the best possible option. Here, your all options are opinions. Your choice will stay behind the supposition earlier than confirmation.

We really don’t know - what we don’t know - and/or in the way we know anything/something, it may be only our perception (in above said case). Yes virtual seems actual (as white fluid substance seems milk) but it is a dancing peacock in the jungle either we guess well or not meanings are absolute. Remember that tomorrow’s sluggish, slow-moving, inefficient, textual, ineffective, reserved, ignored and resource-limited virtual platform is today’s visual, audible, interactive, exciting, augmented and improved place. It is now easy to pursue, to hunt, to hold, to chase, to connect, to attract, and to engage someone/anyone through the Internet. However, it is easier to say than done. We are not in position to cover, control, shape, align, and mange nation to nation broadcasted web-based culture. We must have to develop our inside for extreme self-discipline, self-control, self-will and imagination/determination of very high order to restore our broken values.

This paper is to enlighten; what we are underestimating, overestimating, misjudging, miscalculating (while staying on the Internet with virtual beings)? What are pro and cons? How this misconception hurts us in our daily life? What are national impacts? What we don’t know? How we can measure? How national productivity can be improved? How to stop unproductive options? Is it converting our productive industry to sick one?

Before going to the thick of the things, I would like to discuss terms “Virtual and Actual”. “VIRTUAL” means near, fundamental, implicit, practical, effective and essential. Generally, this term is defined as near to actuality. Philosophically, nothing is near to actuality and actual is just real. “ACTUAL” mans real, tangible, definite, genuine, authentic and concrete. Virtual is as simple as our dreams; actual is as simple as our daily practice.

He/she who is round the clock killing his/her key time among virtual beings (with no grounds) is he/she who don’t know how rapidly he/she is being far from actual beings. His/her virtual thinking is moving forward where as he/she is disorganizing his/her actual constructive thoughts. This practice is becoming a SERIOUS CEREBRAL VIRUS which has no appropriate treatment.

Suppose you have a son. He requests you for providing him virtual and/or dreamy item(s), which is not possible for you. What you’ll do? You may have to manage his emotions. What if he is in the age of late 20s? Would it not be more difficult? This is to request to all parents that as they shelter their kids from dirt of actual world, they should be little far responsible to their children when they are prevailing in the dust of virtual world. What they think about e-dating, e-girl friends, e-crimes, e-habits, e-bars, e-lust and e-tours?

Sorry to say, that many people are enjoying this lust (individually and/or collectively). We are not merely uninformed but ignorant through dramatic ingenuousness and childlike attitude. This innocence is rapidly becoming considerable national non-sense and we are fully responsible for it. Car requires fuel and technical care to work properly. We burn cost of the time, the medium, the place, the electricity, the Internet, the machine and mental/physical energy to connect, communicate and interact to virtual being.

Computer images, sounds, clips, text, animations and graphics all are virtual not factual. On other hand, this is also matter of fact that digital power is growing with positive and negative influence.

We generally, consider the Internet like an innocent baby, like a kid, like an angel or he who is friend of our kids and young brothers. It is not merely as simple as looks like. Let us consider this baby as a dragon and/or a terrible thing or he who has its own objectives and values; culture and religion; life style and thinking pattern. What if “The Internet is really trained very well”? Ask from yourself “are you prepared to face all?” Answer is “absolutely not yet”.

This is true that the Internet is a trained dragon and/or agent. He who is growing on our daily resources and life blood? He who is capturing our time, values, objectives, culture, vision and interests? He who is damaging our social and religious values? What you think your kid is going to be modern? Somehow this misconception is affordable but there is a limit after all. We have to STOP ……………….before the certain limit.

A question for every being “What are our calculations about the Internet facilities and functionalities; characters and personalities; culture and norms?”

Let us go through an illustration:

There is a doctor in a TV commercial. He is working in a dental lab. He seems proper dental doctor. He turns his attention to the audience and records his statement. He says “he has discovered a product through his years of scientific research. He claims that his product is the best of its kind and very effective for number of dental problems. It is the best antiseptic. Further, it has no side effects. Medical Science has recently approved it for quality of international standard. Everything was true but did anyone notice that the doctor was an actor and was just acting for the commercial.

Would you like your baby to be treated through a virtual doctor who is actually an actor and/or an actress? Yes, on the Internet, in most of the cases people are like actors or actresses. Everyone is working for his/her film on the Internet and all virtual beings are his/her unpaid actors or actresses. Everyone is going to be out of story at the end of each film and/or episode. All movies are recorded and can be played anytime to anyone and at any place. Remember you are what, what you surf? What you brows? What you chat and/or what you virtually be? We have to be very careful and our virtual character is not far from our actual personality.

Would you like your affiliation with a girl or no-girl, with an organization or no-organization, with man or no-man, with a company or no company? On other hand would you like to be a role for all above as an unpaid or little paid working agent? Ask yourself seriously?

“An intelligent has more to learn from stupid than a stupid from intelligent”. Keep this saying in mind. I have two (absolutely true) references to support this saying for the Internet beings as below:

Reference 1:

There was my office employee in year 2001. He was very crazy for the Internet. Most of his budget was reserved for the Internet. He was confident out of this business that he can manage his tour to United Kingdom through his practice. Day and nights he was on the Internet. He invested pounds of his weight, nights of his time, days of his work, and dollars of money to his new exciting business.

Months passed away and then few more months, his dream was going to be true. He found a beautiful girl and developed understanding with her. Both were agreed to get married. They exchanged their picture, placed few calls, and did some video chat to mature their Internet-based affair. His plan to go to U.K was about to be factual.

In a little while he asked her that without her his life is meaningless. He expressed that girl about his feeling and interest to get married as possible. She replied “fine send me amount $US1000/- so that I be able to arrange ticket and visa for you and process marriage arrangements as well”. He followed the statement.

She was looking for what he did. She received the amount and disappeared. Now my friend is bed bounded whereas she might be (further on) in her business.

Reference 2:

Year 2002, I started a project with a friend. He was not very familiar with computer and Internet. I trained and motivate him to keep in contact with clients and me through the Internet (because it was less costly and effective). He was eager to be well trained in the new field of computer and communication. He trapped in the lust of chatting in very first week of his training. I let him go deep just to be aware of the Internet and communication to improve his skill.

A month later, he introduced me with his online girl friend. He was very excited. I did understand complete story. I asked him to be very careful and reserve. (Unfortunately, this was to suggest to that girl.) The girl was living in Thailand. She started to send gifts and to place calls. Both were on-line most of the time. Instantaneously, she asked my friend to come and to get married. My friend was trying to buy ticket. Hardly, I stopped him. Few days later, she sent dollars (sufficient enough to go Thailand) and asked him to move for Thailand to be only of her.

Now my friend is out of status. She may be still looking for but her dream boy is enjoying his life on her money. I was not in favor of my friend at all. What ever it was, it was a fraud. He’ll spend the money and she’ll forget the amount but event will be the reference chapter for long time.

In both of the cases, our national image is badly dishonored. Either we are smart or stupid among the virtual being our status is not optimal. We should care of all such practices. We should care of our national image. There are number of cases and hundreds of stories to support this issue. I know very well that while reading above two references, my message will become a jock in many discussions. But my objective may be achieved if in a single discussion it becomes a matter of self-correction.

Above said issues are happening in the same line of attack with our organizations and business concerns. Many of our working partners are involved in such frauds. They are spending their time and money ill logically to overseas companies. They are signing no function agreements and getting no purpose affiliation. Our industry is going sick day by day. We are not learning what we must be. We are damaging our home from roots day and night and initially we are cutting it from our kitchen.

Think for the moment when we are going to make a deal with one party. We will check the party a lot. We will assess office, living style, business, standing, and relation of that party. Unfortunately, we check nothing while going online in a contract with an e-party. Signing a contract with virtual organizations, ask a question from yourself, “Why we feel no purpose pride?

Remember, we are using several unpaid services from thousands of venders around the world. We have signed agreements like yahoo, hotmail, excite etc, without reading their agreements and/or without clear understanding. They have all authorities and we have only responsibilities. Point is not to discourage. Point is not to be the part of problem. This is the point that we should understand virtual issues as we consider actual issues. Habitually, action is the same to our online vender agreements. Virtual world is as big as our actual world. Its laws are being in force step by step. As it’ll have some rigid legal standing “B” in the place of “A” will be consider as a crime.

Remember what you see on the Internet is a storyboard to capture your interest. Either this is a big story or short, you are voting in the virtual ballot box in regards to thousands of issues. You cannot deny to your statements and or votes. There may be a big problem in near future. We will cast the vote against our national or personal interest. Your vote will be in the ballot box of you opponent party and you’ll be unaware of it. Visualize the concept of e-court, e-government, e-justice and all other related department those are in the progress of being computerized and/or Internet based.

Whenever, there will be a national calculation, we will be considered as a criminal and/or affiliated to some crimes. The Only reason will be our stupidity. “SUPPOSE TRAFFIC LAWS” We are not law breakers but our less awareness and/or carelessness becomes our crime and we pay for it. Many times, we underestimate the duty Officer. “SAME – SAME – SAME” We are part of web-offenses (merely/partially, individually/collectively). We have already paid a lot against our less knowledge or ignorant attitude. We are paying for our less knowledge and/or our misconception. We have to stop this rat race as soon as possible. Remember, trouble in rat race is that if a rat comes first in the race, it cannot be a lion in any way. We all are in this trap. We should never underestimate strength of virtual world at all.

We have to manage our virtual resources as our actual resources because our ideas, knowledge, business relations, logical strengths, and everything relevant are assets of our local beings (nation) and our country (Pakistan). We have to secure our national interests and we have to secure our personal interests as well. Finally, we have to be most favorable beings in on the Internet living beings.

The Internet is a place where our virtual resources are wide-open, unlocked and unsafe. Would you like to put there secretes of our nation, surely not at all.

We have to mange our attitude, manner, outlook, position and ourselves, when we are among the virtual beings. This issue must be in action from today because we are already too late. Technology is on its ever-rapidly-going way. No one can halt, stop or slow its pace. We have to live in all these type of things. This is the place having dragon-inner self, and we have to be very secure, careful, alert, safe and prepared.

Hand-held, Pocket PCs, web-enabled mobile phones and similar products are in the market with limited support and services (like O/2 with GPRS and Sony Tablet Pocket PC with GPRS/GPS). We can start using them from the day we want to. Every thing in this way is going to be very cheep. In a year or two or few more years, this will be a toy (common enough) possibly in the hands of kids. This is going to be happened soon at front of us.

A common Mobile Phone is going to contain all of our virtual and intellectual properties like, voice mails, text mails, address books, clients list, meeting agendas, family pictures, products pictures, sites pictures, digital signature, GPS-based movements (even international move), proposals, quotations, projects summary or projects, clips, and personal bank. Digital documents, mean your total organization, will also be in your hand held or digital pocket organizer. All these said things will be round the clock online and your device may be digitally accessed through anywhere in the world as your desktop. Dot Net and related technologies are in this race to facilitate enough your machine to capture desktop of any device to any other device where it can be operated like the parent system’s screen. Someone else can use your system in as simple way as you are using it. Someone else he who may be silent/unknown user and/or probably one of your business competitors and/or our country’s enemy and/or someone’s virtual agent. Because we are used to use thousands of unpaid services and these all are making insecure our devices. We are used to enter 80% the ok button without reading the message. He who knows less is secure less. He who knows well is secure well. So learn, learn and learn to lock your virtual property. As our army protects our country from actual forces we have to secure our country from virtual forces.

Remember, we have already paid a lot against free service and/or forces. These forces are damaging our national interest day by day. Now we have to manage our belongings and values; customs and ethnicity. We have to protect our representation among the global beings.