Truck Topics
Expediting and the Internet
The internet dominates our lives, about this there is no doubt. We are attached to our e-mail accounts and rely extensively on the internet for all kinds of online research and services, whether it is on health and diet, political news, recipes or trucking and expediting news.
The all-encompassing nature of the Internet leads us to question: Before the World Wide Web how did we survive? How did we make airline reservations?
How did we figure out how to get from point A to point B?
How did we get along so well without email?
People have been asked what they thought was the most important item in their daily life: the computer, mobile phone or television. The majority of the readers chose their computers, followed closely by mobile phones.
A survey taken a few years ago asked...
How has the Internet Changed your Life?
550 votes
52.7% - 290 Votes Greatly - I do everything online!
29% - 160 Votes Somewhat - I do many things online
7.4% - 41 Votes What is the Internet?
6.5% - 36 Votes Hardly - I dont use the internet for much
4.1% - 23 Votes It Hasn't - I do nothing on the internet
It also asked...
How Long have you been on the internet?
39.5% - (217 Votes) 10+ Years
34.6% - (190 Votes) 5-9 Years
11.2% - (62 Votes) 2-4 Years
6.3% - (35 Votes) 1 Year
4.3% - (24 Votes) Today is my First Day!
3.8% - (21 Votes) A Few Months
A huge majority of people log on to the Internet several times a day or are constantly online (either at home or in office). In terms of exact hours, the majority stay connected between 1 to 2 hours, either checking e-mails or just browsing the Net.
E-mail usage is ubiquitous for all Internet users with all but one per cent choosing it as a priority. Research and information gathering proved to be the second largest driver of Internet usage. This was followed closely by news searches.
A lot of people shop online. Lifestyle is another major area where online purchases include clothes, health and personal goods, jewellery and watches, sports and outdoor shoes, and clothing accessories. The Net is also found convenient for planning travels and hotel reservations.
It's amazing to consider how much of everday life and the business world has changed over the past few years because of the Internet. The typical Internet user can shop online, research products, read the news, watch YouTube videos, play games, keep in touch with friends and family, and some even spend some time blogging.
Another survey showed the many reasons that online users find to connect with the world (In no particular order)
Earning money in leisure time
Surfing the Web
Research
E-mailing
Word processing
Working
Googling
Instant messaging
Downloading music
Shopping
Playing games
Playing music
Paying bills
Downloading software
Selling products / services
Looking for jobs
Meeting people
Burning CDs
Watching movies
Reading e-books
The Net on the road
The trucking world has embraced the Internet as a welcome business and recreation tool. The potential for a professional driver armed with a laptop and wireless connection is almost limitless, with truckers and expediters using email, searching for loads, updating their knowledge of trucking regulations and, of course, visiting ExpeditersOnline for expediting information a viewing the fora. It's as though the inventors of the Internet had drivers in mind when developing the network.
Let's see what the expediting community has to tell us about their Internet useage:
David and Patty Jo Jaynes, owner-operators
"The Internet keeps us more linked and able to track our runs, our pay and to keep our paperwork straight."
"We use it for trip planning. We have GPS and we also use Mapquest to double check the route, to make sure it's the way to run."
"We like to look at newspapers online from around the U.S. as well as check the news and weather back home. My mother is 92 years old and lives with us, so we like to be sure everything is OK weatherwise."
"David will log on to Google on a regular basis when we see something new and want more information about it. We're both nature lovers so if we spot a strange bird or animal, we'll Google it to figure out what it is."
"We keep in touch with our kids through email, but we don't really surf the net."
Ryan Rees, fleet owner
"We use the FedEx Custom Critical extranet very often to track my trucks and keep the statistics on the trucks like how they're doing monthly, etc. We have a business email address and that receives a lot of useage. For research, I use Ask.com and I find trucking news on a variety of web sites."
Larry Day, independent owner-operator
"We look for loads, check the email for loads and keep an eye on ExpeditersOnline. I've been independent since June of this year so I'm always on the lookout for loads. I surf the net occasionally, but I'm not a big game player."
Lynn and Shelly Baxter, team drivers
Lynn says, "I was one of those guys who was slow in adopting the computer. I've always liked hi-tech stuff but I guess I was afraid of it. When they came out with Windows it really opened up computer useage."
"Now we use the Internet all the time, maybe 4 or 5 times a day."
"Landstar posts loads on three or four web sites so we're on there all the time looking for freight. We can visit those sites and find out what Landstar trucks are in an area, what freight is going in or coming out of that area, etc."
"When we stop somewhere and we want to see a movie we just go online and find what's playing. We use the Internet for fuel purchases to see who's got the best price."
Lynn continues, "I don't know what we'd do without the Internet, we Google so much stuff. We display our truck at different trucking shows, so we can find all the information on the shows. If I had to choose between having the Internet and a cell phone it would be a tough choice. We do a little bit of shopping online, mainly Walmart and Sears."
"Twenty years ago, they thought the microwave oven was the invention of the century. Now I've been reading that the laptop will be obsolete in the next ten years and everybody will be using Blackberries and cell phones. The technology just blows me away."
"If the Internet were to crash, I think everybody would be in big, big trouble."
Leo Bricker, fleet owner
"I use the Internet for emails, researching parts and equipment for my trucks, occasionally looking for loads and keeping an eye on the ExpeditersOnline forum. I also use it for reference purposes, like dictionaries, thesaurus and encyclopedias - you name it and I've gone online to find it."
"As far as living without the Internet, if I absolutely had to, I could get along without it, but it would be more boring out on the road and it would make things a lot more challenging."
"I use the Web to pay bills and for banking. I primarily use Google for searches along with Ask.com or Yahoo search engines but mainly for amusement and passing the time."
Many computer experts believe that computing and the Internet are still in its infancy. What's to come?