I am the Internet
By posting this article, I am contributing a piece to the Internet. I become one with the net as my article is scanned by search engines, �Dugg� on dig.com, which is linked to Technorati.com and discussed on forums. I�m one of a few million people that actively contribute to the web on a weekly basis. By posting a comment on blog / forums, uploading your photo to Flickr, and bashing a newb in your forum, you become a part of this phenomenon known as the Internet.
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The media is calling this �Social Networking�. I feel this is the next logical step in our connected world. When this new form of technology first arose in the form of radio, television and computers, many claimed it was bad because it was separating our young people from the world and damaging our future as a race. I can slowly see an evolution where the web has turned into the new television and more people are on the Internet than watching TV or listening to the radio. We�re connecting to each other in new and different ways. I can watch my latest favorite TV show on YouTube or purchase it on iTunes for viewing on my iPod. I can write my thoughts and feelings out on a blog that only my �real-life� friends can see and I can upload some photos of my camping trip to my photoset on Flickr, then my buddy that went with me can tag these as favorite and print them off to show his girlfriend.
Prior to this technology, I had to move my entire day around to be able to catch this episode of "24". I had to get my prints developed and meet my friend so he could pick his favorites and I then had to go back and get another set developed for him to show his family. I keep a journal and when I see my best friend, I show it to him and he comments on it face to face. Can you see how far we�ve come? We can now all collaborate and do all of these things in 5 minutes when it would have taken 5 hours previously. If I want to be more personal with my friends, we can start up a 4 person video chat or **Skype each other for an audio chat and collaborate that way and see each other�s expressions. It will feel like we�re talking face to face.
I don�t have a huge article to write about this but just wanted to express my feelings on the subject and offer a real world comparison for the masses. Give me your thoughts and are there any instances where you can relate to this super communication / collaboration tool we know as the Internet?
