As teenagers and young adults, we are very comfortable with the prospect of dealing with a website to arrange any of the myriad activities we conduct daily, from buying movie or concert tickets, to checking bank statements, to finding directions, to posting and sharing pictures with family and friends. Furthermore, we have no qualms about embracing new, shiny web 2.0 applications as soon as they become available, nor about quickly filling up their recently developed databases with tidbits of our personal information. We undeniably are internet’s early adopters.

However, the trend surpasses mere use and disclosure of private information. Most of us are completely immersed and dependent upon several popular sites that we chiefly use to handle our calendars, e-mail accounts and documents. If we are not cautious, the negative aspect of this tendency can quickly manifest itself. No, I’m not talking about privacy issues. Let me explain.

We are used to thinking that internet applications are always and everlasting. If it’s online, it’s going to be there forever. Period. What if, all of the sudden, your favored site goes offline indefinitely? Do you have a backup strategy? Oh, you think that’s nonsensical? Jocular perhaps? Not for the many people who tried to access Gmail a few weeks ago, just to realize Google’s famous free mail service was unavailable.

The downtime lasted several hours. As one would expect, the public outcry was rampant and merciless. How is it possible that Google, arguably one of the most powerful IT companies in the world, experienced such an abnormal, incredibly long downtime? Alas, they are not alone in this department.

A similar situation unfolded when Amazon’s S3, an online storage service utilized primarily by small startups and freelance software engineers, became inaccessible for several hours. More than one new-generation entrepreneur went ballistic, and the irate statements are still reverberating in the blogosphere and in online forums.

In spite of the complexity of web applications and concepts such as availability and scalability, this situation is perfectly understandable given the status quo. Technology is not the problem. Web applications are not the problem. The culprit here is our stance on the internet.

Our desire and ability to use the cloud, an en vogue term used to describe the new generation of online services and web applications, as a bona fide replacement for desktop programs is not deplorable per se. Nevertheless, believing that online apps are impervious to downtimes and technical glitches is utterly sinful. A good friend of mine used to say, “Web apps are like hard disks. They will fail whenever you least expect it.”

I can practically hear your clamor now. ”Then what do you suggest we do, Elvis? How can we conceivably act in order to ameliorate the deleterious effects of a nefarious downtime?” Unfortunately, there is no easy answer here. If you don’t want to fall prey to unexpected internet malfunctions, then you’ll have to do a little bit of research, depending on the web application you’re dealing with. For instance, online calendars such as Google Calendar and Yahoo! Calendar allow you to export your events in different formats so that you’re able to synchronize them with local programs. Other web tools provide comparable options. Ultimately, it’s all contingent on the services you use and the amount of data you have on them.

In spite of everything, it would be unwise not to have a strategy when your preferred online tool is not available. Reflect on the consequences for just a moment. You don’t like that vision, do you? Now, you’ll have to excuse yours truly. I need to go and ponder how on Earth I’m going to save this 4.2 GB Gmail account onto my laptop.