The Internet as a Pied Piper

The Internet is, at its very core, is a network. Social networking, blogging, link exchanges, etc. are such natural progressions of this technological necessity that it truly isn't even funny. My main hobby is cars, and I have been part of a few forums dedicated to a specific car for a long time - some as long as nearly 13 years. The exhange of information and learning from the experiences of others has made it possible for people to tackle projects that they might not have attempted before.

Fast forward to 2009. In a moment of absolute insanity and crazy "what the hell", I purchased a motorcycle that needed some work. When I bought it, I knew that it was a popular model, but I had no idea that the passion behind the owners of this model might rival that of my beloved Mustang.

Having served as a warehouse of information (so to speak) for the Mustang community for so long, I had somewhat forgot what it was like to post 'newbie' questions and ask others to share their experiences. Since I have a solid foundation experience for mechanical projects (My Stang has been apart and back together quite a few times for quite a few incarnations of its life), I felt confident that I could jump into the motorcycle arena with just a bit of guidance. Just about 2 months later, the bike is looking better than ever and almost ready to hit the road (some parts haven't arrived yet).

I did the same when I gutted and rebuilt my daughter's room in our house, but I didn't find message forums resources as plentiful as the fossil fuel burners. I had to look through DIY sites loaded with advertisements and Youtube provided a good amount of online video instructions (but be careful what you follow and believe). Good old books (I have some of those fossils in the basement.. hehe) are also great sources!

The piece that was lacking was the interaction of people to people. You hear so much from "those people" that our students and we lack the person to person interaction that the Internet takes away. I think that it is easy to make the arguement that the interaction is surely there, although it has manifested itself in a different form but it has evolved to another level. Just because I am not staring face to face with someone doesn't mean we aren't communicating.

If that is your absolute quantifier, then I suggest getting a web cam and a clue. The "Great Communicator" is us. The tool is the Internet, and I can only imagine how communication will evolve next. Let's hope that we will be literate enough and open-minded enough to speak its lingo.