This article is to go hand in hand with OneWebDay, in which an article about the event can be found on the BBC website. Also I posted my image into flickr yesterday. Most of the following has been was wrote on the 22/09/2006
It is a very difficult task to explain how the web has changed our lives, I am at the age were I can remember life before the Internet when you didnt have terms like Google or online shopping it shows how quickly things can change in the last 10 years or so. Books has been written on the subject this is my short personal account.
It can connect continents in a instant, buy your weekly shopping with a few clicks, voice anyone’s opinion, download the latest episode of your favourite t.v show or a new music CD. Overall a vast database of Knowledge, been able to find an answer to a simple question with a few click and a search engine is incredibility satisfying and can only do good for our culture. But for all the benefits there is a worry about the web this idea of “Freeland”, Freeland that anybody can have a piece with no regulation, well you have the American politicians who believe they own it and china’s censorship but I am not going to go into that on this post. Given how free the web is I find very attractive, its gives much more creativity and development among users. Though you have this freeland I do believe most of the web is utter shit (to be blunt), it might find the answer to a question rather quickly to a question (or not so if you on your 4th page of a Google search) but how reliable is its source, given the web meaning would be one way of solving this problem and should come about rather soon.
People have a worry of terrorism, child pornography, fraud etc, viruses and many more. I am a firm believer that the web has a vast amount to offer and personally have never been affected by these problems and would class myself as a high level user. Not that there not there, but ignorant/uneducated (in terms of the web) people tend to have problems. In my eyes it is children that need to be protected by these issues. Most of the problems tend to just be a form of moral panic, generated by the press or should I say News Corp.
For all the worries of the internet, this article is really about how the Internet has been a benefit for me in terms of uses, for starters communication (satisfying my id) has go to be top of the list, the use of instant messaging and email to keep in touch with distant friends, family and university stuff is an essential part of the web for me, the first thing I do when I log on is check my email, like many other people around the world when log on I suspect (no need to log on to the IM network that starts with windows :)).
Expressing myself HERE.
Been able to download music, I won’t say anymore from itunes to bit torrent.
Online Shopping of any kind.
Feeling part of any community.
After Communication, coming a close second is how much connected you become with the latest news, news is never outdated like it is with newspaper it is freely available and updated every minute of the day. This isn’t just general news but news regarding any subject you want. An RSS aggregator is a MUST !!, for me its Bloglines.
I have also got to mention that using the web at university has also been great, all work is submitted electronically so this can be done at home (I am Lazy).
It has a large amount of entertainment of any kind from games to videos check out Zefrank for instance, another example is my young cousin has just sent me this.
I find it really difficult to sit here an try to express how much I love what we have got with the internet and how I use it to my full advantage. Everybody has there own experiences and own uses of the web these have been mine.
-Kyle
Darn I have more likely forgot something, I always do.
If you think of something let me know its late.