I Love the Internet

When I worked at Commodore, the user group coordinator, Pete, would book flights to meetings all over the country from his computer by interfacing directly with an airline’s reservation system. His computer screen showed just a bunch of glowing, green computer code and commands without any fancy, graphical user interface (this was way before the Web). There was no travel agent involved. It was just Pete with a computer and modem, and, voilà, he had an airline flight booked. It was the first time that I remember being aware of the Internet and it seemed like a remarkable thing. It would be about a decade later before the Internet became an integral part of my life (both for business and not). By the early ’90s, I had an AOL email address and access to all the Internet could offer—which in the early ’90s was not much.

Now, I am connected to the Internet pretty much constantly. I think of the Internet as a bit like the computer on Star Trek. Ask any question and get an answer (most of the time). Although it lacks the warmth of Majel Barrett’s voice, I can usually find the answers that I need when I need them. And the Internet is also a bit like a Star Trek transporter. With an Internet connection, I can send messages and files across time and space where they arrive almost instantly (most of the time). There are sites on the Internet that I visit or use almost daily (and sometimes several times a day). None of them are secret, but these sites make my life easier and I want to share my appreciation. There is way too much to list in just one post, so here are just a few of my favorite places to get information and answers. More to come later.

Google—Is Google the best or what? I love Google. I do a Google search (because, as an editor friend of mine point out, Googling is not a real word) several times a day. Want to find out why my printer is printing blanks. Check Google. Want to find out how to produce a table of contents automatically in InDesign. Check Google. Want to find out how to add a slide master in any version of PowerPoint. Check Google. Want to know the difference between “who’s” and “whose.” Check Google. Want to spell pretty much anything (and since my spelling ability is pretty crappy this happens a lot). Check Google. Even with my mangled attempts at spelling, Google magically knows what I am trying to type and thoughtfully gives me the correct spelling (plus any reasonable alternatives). (Yes, I was one of those kids who was totally lost when told by my grade school teachers to look up words in the dictionary that I couldn’t spell. Heck, if I couldn’t spell a word, how exactly was I going to look it up. Yes, my ability to spell is that bad.) Needless to say, I love Google. I know there are other search engines out there, but really if you have Google, why do you need anything else? And as a bonus, those wonderful people who run Google quite often dress up their bare bones search page with very cool graphics for special occasions. Even more to love.

Wikipedia—More often than not, my Google searches send me to Wikipedia. And, yes, I know you can’t trust everything on Wikipedia, but where else can you find the answers to so many questions in so much detail with so many handy links to even more information? Is the word “Internet” capitalized or not? Who was the voice of the computer on Star Trek? What do previous Olympic site logos look like? Who was Aldus Manutius and why should I care? What is the history of the floppy disk? What is the difference between pastrami and corned beef? Is Marco Polo on Netflix accurate or not? (The answer is, mostly, not.) Important topics and unimportant ones all have pages on Wikipedia. Wikipedia has the answers. And the explanations. As a kid I could get lost looking up something in an encyclopedia veering from my original search onto other pages and other topics. I do that now on Wikipedia. Starting with one entry and following links to all sorts of useful (and often useless) information.

Google Maps/Mapquest—When I graduated from college, someone gave me a card that said (and I paraphrase) “now that you know where you are going, do you know where you are going to park?” Back then, I barely knew where I was going. Trying to get somewhere new meant hoping that your map was not out of date (spoiler alert—the map was always out of date) and that the directions you were given were marginally correct. I remember that sigh of relief I always had when I actually ended up where I was going for a job interview or an appointment. Now with a quick search of either Google Maps or Mapquest, I can see where I am going. I can plot an alternate route or estimate driving time. And I can see the entire trip in front of me (being a basically visual person this is really handy). And sometimes I can even see what the building I am going to visit looks like. Even with onboard navigation and cell phone apps, I love being able to preview my route in the comfort of my den on my huge computer monitor. And I love knowing where I am going and, hopefully, where I can park.

LinkedIn—I worked at Commodore through two massive layoffs and was let go in a third (there were several more after that). I have kept in touch with a few of the people that I worked with there, but I lost track of the vast majority of my former colleagues almost immediately. There was just no way to keep track of where everyone was, where everyone was going, and where everyone ended up. Even if I could have kept in touch initially, after one or two career moves, I lost track of who was where. Multiply that by over 20+ years, several full-time jobs plus lots of freelance gigs and there are an awful lot of people that I worked with that I liked and I would like to know what they are up to. Now I have LinkedIn to keep up with former work friends, colleagues, associates, and vendors. A lot of being a successful freelancer is keeping up contacts and LinkedIn makes that a whole lot easier. As for Pete…. No I am not LinkedIn with him, but I have connections who are. So I can find him if I need to.