In the early weeks of July, the World Cup and the prospect of football coming home brought us closer together as a nation. But would this experience have been the same without the internet? Doubtful. This collective feeling of triumph, hope and sadly, defeat, I believe, was fuelled by the immediacy of digital technology, which, love it or loath it, has the ability to drive national conversations and a shared sense of community over platforms such as social media and the world-wide-web.

This isn't unique to football. Digital technology is now integral to the lives we live and the experiences we share at home, at work and in our towns and cities, and this isn't going to change.