Real estate is another industry that has dramatically changed as a result of the Internet. At least in the U.S., the Internet has become a great time saver in buying a house or shopping for a place to live. Estimates are that sixty percent of U.S. homebuyers used the Internet to shop for a house and most of them used it to find information about specific areas and neighborhoods. A few years ago, the head of a realtors group pronounced the Internet as a major "threat" to realtors. When the Internet generated more business, they changed their opinion. Most realtors use the Internet to "show" houses. This helps cut down the number of actual house visits a realtor makes, giving them more time for other aspects of their business.
Paper blueprints are on their way out in the construction industry as are fax machines, replaced by handheld devices complete with wireless modems and mapping software. Several of the biggest construction companies are using linked websites, making it easier for contractors, builders, and subcontractors to collaborate on everything from design and engineering, to management, to buying materials, posting schedules and bidding for jobs.
While the Internet's use is now widely accepted in real estate, the medical field has been slow to endorse the inevitable changes. Now, physicians are starting to use handheld computers to assist them in various procedures - writing prescriptions, keeping track of billable hours, checking drug interactions, measuring appropriate doses and identifying side effects. The wireless computers have also prevented some pharmacies from accidentally giving patients the wrong medicine.
Dozens of companies have transformed travel arrangements by setting up websites for electronic ticketing, discounted airfares, and registration for hotels. Pre-select your meals, too. Even more changes are envisioned for the travel industry in the near future.
More and more airports have kiosks that provide travelers with easy Internet access, but soon internet-enabled technologies will appear throughout the airports. Alaska Airlines. Southwest Airlines, Midwest Express Airlines, and American Airlines, among others, let customers print boarding passes from their personal computers. Airlines can also scan in driver's licenses and link them to boarding passes via a bar code, allowing the gate agent to identify the passenger without the traveler having to reach into their pocket for ID. In the future, digital fingerprinting and eye scan technology may be added for identification purposes.
With people turning to the Internet to find the perfect sofa or even a car, then why not online therapists? To the excitement and alarm of some experts in the field, new mental health websites are offering the type of counseling once available only in the intimacy of a therapist's office. Several allow you to email your therapist for guidance and advice, for a fee.
Farmers across the world have also seen major changes in the way they do business, shopping for the best deals on machinery and supplies, especially chemicals to kill bugs and weeds. Also farmers are exploring the Internet to find the best prices for their crops. In China, over 30,000 farmers in the coastal city of Ningbo peddle their plums, peaches, and peacocks on the Internet. According to the People's Daily newspaper, the Ningbo farmers praise the Internet, a medium they call "a bridge" that leads the farmers "to fortune." Chinese officials say the farmers are selling their produce to more than twenty countries.
Perhaps the most profound changes caused by the Internet have been in how people find jobs. Not only are dozens of websites collecting resumes, posting job openings, and providing jobseekers with guidance and advice, but many companies have taken to saving travel money by using the Internet's video conferencing capability to conduct job interviews online. Target, Macy's, Home Depot, and other big-name retailers - even the Mirage Resorts Casino - have replaced paper applications and in-person interviews with computer kiosks for the initial screening of applicants.
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