Of late, I have been reflecting on my long term addiction to the Interwebs. Back in "the day" all I had to work with, for the most part, is by today's standards antiquated. An over clocked 486 with 16 meg of memory and CRT monitor. The qwerty key board seems to be the real survivor. You just don't see text only versions of web pages any more.
I became aware at the advent of AOL and IM. I had heard of message boards and such but like amateur radio (which I was becoming somewhat bored with) they seemed to me, antiquated as well. Now I could be really connected to the world! Little did I know at the time what that would eventually mean.
Now my dual screen, mega gig surf board still takes commands from my fingers via a qwerty keyboard.
Now we have a multitude of blogs, forums and social networking tools. By and large the Internet is still a place for the sharing of information on any topic. However, it has become polluted with unsolicited advertising and "suggested posts". Gummed up with misinformation that is freely spread by the barking masses, I have to actually do research before I hit the share button. I am constantly being profiled by analytical search bots. Googly search for a widget and magically every form of it appears on my E-gay side bar. Indeed we are all part of a World Wide Web that we can only escape from by going off the grid.
I am unable to go off the grid. My OCD stops me. The desire to share a part of myself with the world is overwhelming at times. The need to be part of the online society does not just go away. I need my fix daily.
Yes, I am addicted. At least I endeavor to separate the wheat from the chafe. The wheat available now allows me to stay close to friends far away. I can keep in contact with my children and loved ones. I get to make new friends and experiment with differing forms of communication and networking. The chafe is just fertilizer.
"Hi my name is Wheelman and I am a blog mouther and face blatherer".
Great blather Wheelman, I came late to this caper, thought I was so cool by bagging the whole shebang but watching as a voyeur through a hole in the wall, some of the more established blogs and other fora have been in my sights since inception. I swore I'd never 'join in', I was above it, didn't need it, but mostly to be honest, I couldn't 'use it' . . . now, almost a decade later, I'm on, I'm in and I'm loving it for all the same reasons you so succinctly put. I've always loved learning and connecting with like minded folks and to be able to hook up with crew from all over this little ball we live on still wigs me out . . . I shoot from the hip and hope like hell I've got it right, I don't do retractions, I don't tell fibs, I do apologise if I fuck up or make mistakes and I have no concerns regarding putting 'me' out there and hugely respect those who do likewise. I just wish more folk would communicate beyond just slapping up the shot or the vid, you do and I relish the exchange, knowing full well we could sit down and share a frosty beverage in the flesh without skipping a beat . . . the sharing of a common passion, similar beliefs and views is a wonderful thing, and it's all due to this interwebnetcyberspaceether thing that I was so reluctant to engage with initially . . . thank fuck I got over that !!! Cheers buddy, apols for the length of the response blather.
ReplyDeleteAll good Mate! I know the time it takes to write something meaningful and from the heart. As far as the bloggy blather thing goes, I watched other blogs for a long time and have been active on Respect The Panda. How fortunate I am to be a part of that. I know this blog would get little or no attention if it weren't for my Panda Brothers and our blog. They have shown me great support in my branching out on my own.
ReplyDeleteI am not looking for fame nor fortune. I gave up on that with the ol' rock star dream thingy a long time ago. I hope my little blog keeps getting attention but, if not, I am OK with that too.
Looking forward to your first contribution my friend and please keep the comments coming!
Now if I can just figure out how to let folks continue to leave comments after the first approval........ hmmm