Thursday, July 24, 2008

What We Didn't Know In 1996

When I was eighteen I worked for an internet startup. No one I knew really used the internet for much other than email at that point, and maybe AOL chat. I remember I frequented the Seattle Times BBS and it was like ten dollars a year or something.

My company was basically one that made webpages but marketed itself like Amway and was seriously one of the weirdest places ever to work. I was eighteen though and didn't know things. My almost thirty year old self wants to back in time and kick some serious ass because that shit was fucked up and some one needs to tell those people that.

This was before the internet boom and before most people had figured out how to make money using the internet but everyone just knew that they could. It was before blogging or wikipedia. It was before GOOGLE. I used the internet all the time back then but I never imagined all of the ways it would infultrate my life. I don't think any of us could image this back then.

I realized today that I use the internet for all kinds of things. Banking, shopping, Boggle, time wasting, communicating with my family, business, research of countless things. I mean what did we do prior to IMDB? Thanks to the internet you can find out which actress was in that one scene in that one movie and not obsess about it until three in the morning.

I even get recipes from the internet. But not from foodie sites. I just pick them up from blogs I read, I am currently obsessed with some carrots that I got from the comments from some one's blog post. This is the part of the internet that I wish my mother and my grandmother could enjoy. Sort of a virtual neighborhood recipe exchange. Or a place where moms worry about their babies sleep habits. Or exchange pictures. Or tips on where to find the best deals on baby shoes.

I suppose my grandmother in particular actually had a real community that provided some of that support. And now I have it too. Even at 2am.

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