The Internet, or more specifically, the World Wide Web, has had the most impact on the human world in the shortest amount of time, than nearly any other object or event in our history. In 20 short years we have seen a military-only network literally explode into the world from its starting point in the United States of America. The Internet has changed almost every aspect of human life, all over the world. It's changed the way we do business, and the way we shop. It's changed the way we interact with our friends and plan events. It's changed the way we entertain ourselves and changed the way we work and learn. It's even changed the amount of knowledge we carry around in our heads – and we know that when we have a need, the answer is at our fingertips.

But the most important aspects of the changes the Internet has brought us are those that involve individuals interacting. Thanks to the Internet, anyone, anywhere, as long as they have access to the Web, can interact instantly with anyone else no matter where they are – for one low monthly cost. It's difficult to imagine the Internet as a physical space, but if we did, it could perhaps best be described as a very densely populated city, with a very small monthly tax, and free and instantaneous public transit.

Like any big city, the Internet tends to arrange itself into neighbourhoods or villages, each one populated by a certain group of people. But, the tribes in these villages aren't together because of their location or their race – they live in the same virtual space because they are interested in the same kinds of things – and for no other reason. The only barrier left between any two people across the globe from each other, who are interested in the same things, is language. Because the Internet has spread so far, so fast, there are now fewer native English speakers online than there are speakers of other languages.

The Internet has opened up a completely new frontier for businesses interacting with their customers. A business located in Michigan can reach out and serve a customer in Mumbai with very little difficulty, and, at most, shipping charges if the customer purchases a physical product. There is no end to the number of ways your business can reach out to new markets all throughout the Global City. They simply need to access those tribes that share common interests which make them a target market for your business.

Once a significant number of tribe members become aware that your business can fulfil a need shared by many tribe members – the news travels at the speed of light! Thanks to social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, and Google Buzz, and viral marketing techniques (like using YouTube to spread your message far and wide), it won't be long before everyone in your target tribe knows about your business. Everyone in that tribe who speaks your language, that is.

We mentioned earlier that language remains a barrier between like-minded individuals interacting on the Internet. There may be other tribes in the Global City who need what your business offers, but haven't heard about you, because they speak other languages. Even though more and more people each year are learning to speak English (about 2 billion are learning right now!), the majority of non-native English speakers still prefer to access the Web in their native tongue. And birth rates in non-English countries continue to outstrip those in English countries.

There are a number of things you can do to make sure your business is reaching out through all possible avenues. Here are a few of them:

• Identify your target market, not by demographic alone, but by interests and value systems in order to find the various places they collect online.
• Make use of social networking sites in your advertising. There are countless strategies for making it very easy for your customers to share your message with their online friends - that's how word about your business will spread within your target tribe.
• Use viral marketing techniques that are complimentary to social networking. It could be anything from a company blog, to a few entertaining videos on YouTube. All it takes is for one post or video to catch on and spread, and your market will open up very quickly!
• Use a multi-language translation service to grow your online presence and allow speakers of other languages to learn about you and do business with you online. Have your website translated, along with your marketing material. Right now, English is the dominant business language online, and only a few companies cater to people who would rather shop in a different language. If you offer your website in different languages, you become one of those few companies, instantly decreasing the comparative effectiveness of your competitors in foreign markets.

The Internet has been rapidly changing our world since 1991 – businesses now need to change just as quickly to catch up and stay prominent in this new, virtual city.