How To Be A First Class Citizen Of The Digital World

Guess what? I now make phone calls for N4.40k per minute and free international calls. And how? I kept searching online and trying all the alternatives to Skype I found. Then yesterday I found www.nairacalls.com and I have stopped searching. The call quality is good and the call rate is N4.40k per minute. Now, I'll be canceling my Skype subscription which charges between N6.60 and N8.20k per minute. 

Amazingly, I have found calling via a VoIP service like Skype and the numerous others I tried very convenient. If I see a phone number online, instead of typing out the digits on my phone I just copy and paste in the VoIP tool and make a call. It allows me to easily call people by copying the number in their email signature or call a company by copying the number on their website. And I don't have to worry about placing a phone against my ear or looking for headset.

image: digitalbloggers.com

Today, I will be sharing with you on how you can make the most of the digital world and become a first class citizen of the digital world. And what I mean by being a first class citizen of the digital world is that, just like flying first class on an airline, you get the maximum benefits available. You are able to access and benefit from all the goodness of the digital world. 

Next question you might have is: What do I mean by digital world? The digital world is simply the internet plus the services that run on the internet plus the devices that get you access to those services and the e-Alternatives to things you already do.

Taking me as an example, I have managed to squeeze myself into the first class section of the digital world. Now:

1. I get most of my business clients via digital (online) marketing.
2. I make very cheap local phone calls and free international calls by using an internet phone application.
3. I have stopped buying physical books. Over 80% of my books are eBooks. They are cheaper, easier to read (day or night), always with me and weightless.
4. My friends and family abroad can call me for free via a US line I bought from Skype. I have used it to call and receive phone calls from businesses in US that I'm trying to be a West African partner to.
5. I make my entire living on the PC, a digital device. On Microsoft Excel to be specific.
6. I manage one of my many twitter accounts with a software that is scheduling my tweets, promoting my blog and growing my twitter followers (I now have a total of 14,475 followers that is growing at the rate of over 100 followers per day).
7. I have a blog that is both my daily dairy and a source of great friends.
8. I read one of the best newspaper in the world for the business-minded -- The Economist. My annual subscription to it is for the electronic copy. It comes as both eText and audio. I often listen to the audio copy. It's a little cheaper than the print version but much more convenient to read/listen to.
9. I am not bothered by DSTV's subscription price increase. I watch my movies on Netflix and access those series everyone is talking about. I also don't have to pay monthly or be worried that I have wasted money when I have no time throughout the month to sit in front of a movie.
10. I get the newest top songs and the albums I love without buying them. I use Spotify. All those amazing Hillsong music I have always loved listening to are now on my phone.
11. I follow the trend in my field and have the same edge as those living in US with regards to my work competence because I am a first class citizen of the digital world. As long as a thing is available online, it is available to me. And increasingly, every resource I need: books, webinars, conference, training and latest tool of the trade are all available online.

So how do you become a first class citizen of the digital world, like me?

It's easy. You have to let go of all your limiting beliefs about the online world, about eBooks, about internet calls, about online training and about paying for things online. You have to try out everything that can help you be a better person or professional and is available online. You have to search for e-alternatives to things you use or do -- like books, music and movies. You have to join the community of upward digital socially mobile people. Join communities of people in your field, people with your interests and people already where you hope to be. Increase your status by association.

To be a first class citizen of the digital world you have to squeeze yourself in.