I think this world wide web thing just might catch on

Time was I used to be the only kid in town with internet access. Literally, nobody else. My dad signed up for CompuServe's $2/min dial-in plan one day and after that some of my best moments were spent waiting for that 14.4 Smartmodem to connect and bring us tomorrow's weather forecast. Things have changed a bit since then. In less time than it would have taken that blinking box to stop squawking and squealing you can get the forecast, check the radar, view live traffic cams, watch 6 episodes of Family Guy, and order a year's supply of pills that promise to grow or shrink the body part of your choosing. Thing is, until a few years ago, the internet hasn't really changed, it has only become faster and flashier. So what's new? Only everyone's favorite new catch-phrase: social networking.

It's important to note that people my age and younger hate it when people my age or older talk about social networking. To new generations Facebook and Twitter aren't some revolutionary new form of communicating and socializing because they are the ones who created it. The internet was never a new and exciting thing for today's youth, they were born into it, it has always been a part of their life, and it evolved to meet their needs. Conversely, those who were around before the birth of the internet just can't stop talking about it. Everything is an invention to them, it's all amazing and slightly mysterious. While I'm sure none if this is news to anyone, it does explain my complicated relationship with all of this. I have been around long enough to see the introduction of the internet to the household, but not long enough to really remember what life was like without it. It's old and it's new. I love it and I hate it.

The difference between the internet as we used to know it and the new social networking model is that our usage is now based on interaction with other users. What's not to love? You see a shoe you like on the Imelda's website (shameless plug, anyone?), you show it to your friends, they show it to theirs, and so on. Everyone gets to share what they love, and we get to make money. The other positive side to the new model is the fact that more people are communicating with each other than ever before. We all have access to instant, non committal conversation with one another, and because it's so cheap, we give it away freely. But it's the same reasons that make social networking so great that also make it so terrible. If all businesses realize the power of this free word-of-mouth tool how long will it be before our conversations become over-saturated with pitches and promotions? (One could site the downfall of Myspace and say that it's already happening.) And if people rely on digital communications as their primary way of interacting with one another, could we be turning into a society that socializes more than ever, but isn't at all social?


Thankfully my bi-polar approach to these questions also allows me a certain level of complacency. I'm really not all that concerned because I think that all of the above will happen at some point. Yes, advertising will bloat the system until it chooses to evolve again, and yes, people will become less social for a while (it happened in a big way with the television), but it will also connect us with old and new friends, forgotten relatives, and common interests. And... yes, we will make a buck or two. Be it a fad, trend, or cornerstone of society, social networking is here now, so we might as well use it. You can start by following us on Twitter and becoming a fan of our Facebook page.