First off I know the title contains an outdated phrase: “World Wide Web” is now known as just “The Internet” by virtually everyone you meet. However, the use of that term is more appropriate for this post. Let us consider for a minute what would happen if the entire planet went technologically dark. Does our generation even know how to function without Wikipedia, Google, and YouTube to explain things like simple recipes? Is the human mind losing or gaining memory? How dependent are social, economic, and everyday experiences on computers?
I’ll start with the first question, in a nutshell, no. How many people even own an atlas? Could you visit grandma without using Google Maps? Both those questions can probably be answered with another “no”. Then let’s consider everything else, the weather, email, instant messaging (IM), or Facebook. How long would it take before you’re stuck in a blizzard, lose contact with your best friend, and never remember a single birthday? Lots of questions, answer in a comment or just think about it.
Now we move onto the human mind; can you remember all those contacts in your iPhone? What about remembering an email? A phone number? Your own password? As technology grows, so does our ability to manage, store, and retrieve “memories” at will. No more pulling out the photo album when you can just pull up a Facebook album (I point out Facebook because Myspace in just a year has gone from hero to zero). Feel like you’re forgetting simple stuff if it isn’t written down? You’re not the only one.
My last big question. (Obviously there’s millions more but I just wanted to stick to these three.) When is the last time you stopped to talk to someone at the store verses talking to five people at the same time on your Intel? What is the proper way to start a phone conversation? Who ends that conversation, the caller or the callee? (Callee is a real word, I used Google to verify that, see my point?) How about asking someone on a date without texting it?
My entire point being; people need to think for themselves. If we can’t function without technology then what makes us any better than that dusty Mac computer sitting in your attic? Are we ourselves computers? What is software without the hardware? Nothing. Online society is an easy way of killing offline society. (A side note to any readers, I love technology but I love friendly tech, things that better the world online and off- like WordPress. Try limiting your time on social networks, read a book, not on the computer. Take the time to remember things yourself instead of having your harddrive do it for you. Trust me, your brain will thank you one day.)
When I moved from North Dakota back to California; I decided that paying for long distance phone service has gotten redicious. Since I had gotten cable Internet that had a minimum connection of 11mbps, I wanted to use some type of VoIP system to handle long distance calls that required a land-line. Around 50 websites and several hours of searching finally yielded netTALK. Now before you leap at the next opportunity to by it, keep in mind that the service is relatively new so there are still bugs to be worked out. (My voicemail still doesn’t work.)
The device itself costs $70, which considering that you get unlimited calling with a local number and free domestic calling, is actually a good deal. It only costs $30/year to keep your phone number and connection to their service. So all around it costs the price of one month’s phone bill in a year. Good deal right? Right! The service is great (you must have a very fast Internet connection though, DSL won’t cut it), I’m able to easily manage voicemails, and the best part is that you can take the device with you and use it anywhere with Internet. On top of it, you don’t have to keep a computer on like with MagicJack or Skype, it plugs directly into your router or modem. All in all it is a great idea!
I’ve only had a few issues with it. One of them being that the voicemail doesn’t work. The other problem arose when I first ordered the device and they shipped to the wrong place, but then made me wait for the return before finally sending out another one (took me over a month to finally get it). Their customer service is also very short with you, no lengthy, helpful, or understandable people. Otherwise this is one of the best inventions I’ve ordered.
What has Internet advertising become? Honestly, it seems like the net is simply too big now. Remember a couple years ago when you actually had a chance at being a YouTube star? Well it seems one billion people also had the same idea. It seems the seams are closing tighter and tighter around popularity. Sites are having vicious dogfights over who gets the adspace. TV commercial bombard you with the loudest, fastest, and cheapest commercials they can make. I’ll admit my site doesn’t get the number of views I’d like, but it’s not like I don’t try to get the word out there. Advertising just grows in expense, and who can afford higher rates? Affiliate ads often leave you wishing they would respect your site as much as you respect theirs.
My point is, some days I wish the Internet was a lot smaller and that every site was given an equal chance to be seen. Small business owners are struggling to show off their products and web designers like me are unable to reach the customers needed. If we all do our part and support not-so-famous websites, we can all make the Internet a better place to design, publish, and grow. Know someone who runs a website? Do them a favor and post a Twitter or Facebook update, support your friend’s Internet triumphs and leave the likes of adsense to falter.
If you take a look at the side of my blog posts and several of the site pages, you’ll notice an Awesome Links section. At the bottom of that section is a link saying YOUR LINK HERE. That is FREE advertising for you. All you have to do is click it, shoot me over an email, and I’ll put your link there. I just ask that you do the same for me and add my link to your site or at least share a post on one of your social networking homes. Thanks to all the readers out here who want to make this wired world a better place!
Hulu is a unique web service in that it offers free legal viewing of popular tv shows over the Internet. In all my experience I still haven’t found it’s equal. They also now offer Hulu Desktop, a program to comfortably stream shows from your computer desktop. My joy came when I learned there was a deb package. Hulu is thinking ahead of other companies and offering a Linux version of their program up front. I truly hope their service thrives and continues to lead the way in streaming technology. Long live Hulu!
*The Hulu icon is from Jonas Rask Design and the screenshot is from me.*
