Greensboro

In honor of this year’s event, the Imagining the Internet Center and the editors of the Greensboro News & Record encouraged everyone to share a favorite true story about how the Web is making a difference in big ways and little ways. They asked how it has transformed lives and communities. Written responses and video clips were encouraged. The content submitted was included in a full page of print-only coverage previewing OneWebDay in the Sept. 21 News & Record. Here are links to the YouTube videos and written responses of some of the people who participated.

'''Kate Austin http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UYwOOHdHXnY

''Electronic family ties: Why the Internet is important in my life'

My older brother and I have always been close. We attended the same elementary school, high school and university; we spent years bailing each other out of trouble, sharing rides, advice and friends. He was always around to help me with problems or initiate wild adventures. After graduation he moved to Wyoming, leaving me in a different time zone.

Keeping in touch is difficult. It takes initiative, time and some sort of means to actually communicate. Letters are slow and the telephone poses the constraints of needing both people to be available at the same time. The invention of the Internet provided a form of communication that is close to instantaneous, but could be used at one’s leisure.

My friends and family know that the easiest way to reach me is through e-mail, since I am somewhat addicted to checking it, and am constantly on the run. Through e-mail I am able to continue to get my brother’s advice on how to deal with Mom and Dad (and then immediately e-mail them, using his guidance). We share stories and photos constantly, whether it is eight in the morning before classes or when he gets home from work late at night.

He sends me links to websites that he finds hilarious, knowing that I’ll laugh with him. He sends photographs of his extreme mountain biking adventures that make me glad to be sent a photograph, rather than being beside him fearing for his life. I’ve even met his new cat, Kenya, thanks to the invention of webcams and a neat little program called Skype. Even though I won’t see my brother until December, the Internet keeps convenient communication in our hectic lives.

'''Bryce Little http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQd9B2ylU1A

OneWebDay Goes Beyond the Oregon Trail'''

When the Internet became of age in 1993 I was sitting in my elementary school computer lab smashing the keys on a first generation Apple 2E. Back then, I just thought a computer was a large beige box that occasionally allowed me to play my favorite Atari port like Frogger or Oregon Trail. Little did I know that the computer, and the Internet, would become such an enormous tool in the way that I conduct my life. The Internet has been for me a tool that has allowed me to communicate with almost every source of information. In this day in age every company, interest group, and individual has his or her own web site that is available for access.

The internet offers a broad range of communication options that can become extremely complicated, but it is not the most complicated communication outlets that play such a significant role in how I conduct my everyday, but the small, menial Internet uses that have shaped the way I live. The Internet has made it so calling for pizza became a thing of the past, I just visit the Dominoes Pizza website and order my meal. Right when I wake up I am on the Internet to check what time my bus will be arriving. It is the simplicity at which you can do tasks that even a few years ago would take several minutes can now be done in a matter of clicks.

The majority of my online time is spent looking up numbers, checking dates, and reading the latest news stories. While I have not found a soul mate using one of the many online dating services, or helped a woman give birth over video chat, I have found driving directions on Mapquest, and for me that in an of itself is how the internet has changed my life.

'''Laura Smith http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4UyeiEFbzgA

OneWebDay, Google and Grandfather'''

That whole Google thing is incredible! These were direct words from my 81-year-old grandfather. His generation had to actually spend hours in the campus library, pouring over book after book to find research for that mid-term paper. Now we can just Google it.

While it may be that my generation takes the Internet for granted a bit, it’s not to say we do not take advantage of what it has to offer. Personally, the Internet has definitely made life a lot simpler for me, as it has for most everyone else. Here’s why:

Being a person who always wants to know what is going on in the world, I am able to get on CNN.com or another continuous news Web Site and read about the latest political scandals or news from the Middle East. This idea of instantaneous news in one’s hand via the Internet has allowed people from all over the globe to know what’s going on around them.

The Internet has also allowed me to maintain active social connections. Having moved six times since I was eight years old, I have accumulated friends and acquaintances throughout the country. I am able to keep up with them and stay in touch via Facebook and Instant Messenger. My best friend from when I was twelve is still one of my best friends. And the funny thing is, we haven’t actually seen each other in nine years. Thanks to Facebook and IM, we have kept in touch throughout the years and are still part of each other’s lives in a big way.

The Internet has made life in general easier. I am able to do research online, read about celebrity gossip, and even was able to stay in touch with my family and friends through email when I was studying abroad. Hoping to obtain a career in journalism in the future, I know that the Internet will be vital to my job, now that newspapers and other publications are all converging online. In such a fast paced world we now live in, we have to keep up with the constant changes and the Internet allows us to do so.

'''Andie Diemer http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i9i-bH0FxxE

The Era of the Internet'''

A few years ago, right after the Internet really took off, my cleaning lady Jeane was planning an excursion with her family to Walt Disney Word. Jeane, who had been coming to my house since before I was born, had been saving her money for several years specifically for this trip. Her husband had recently died, her son was in a wheelchair and most of her family worked minimum-wage jobs to keep afloat. But no one worked harder than Jeane. She always prioritized her family, and she wanted this trip more than anything.

One week my father overhead her speaking on the phone about how she was having trouble finding hotels that would accommodate her situation. He knew she wasn’t familiar with online bookinga, so he discretely asked me to investigate some hotels. I began searching, but soon realized that with Jeane’s circumstances several hotel rooms would be pricy and difficult to secure.

But I soon stumbled upon a house that would fit her family of 16 and was stocked with multiple bedrooms, bathrooms and a pool. And it was a fraction of what the hotel rooms would charge.

When I told her of my discovery, and that it was available, her eyes welled with tears. The price cut would allow her to spend more time there, with the people she loved.

My quick key swipes meant absolutely nothing in terms of the hours of labor she logged so she could take her family on a trip they would remember forever. Because of the ease of the Internet, I viewed what I did as literally nothing. It was a few moments of my day. But to her it was a vacation with the ones she loved. It was seeing her grandchildren laugh with Mickey Mouse. It was everything.

'''Rebecca Wetherbee http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0xvh86gF_VI

In Commemoration of OneWebDay'''

Four years of college simply does not allow enough time to research the variety of subjects that interest me. Had I the time, I would probably take classes in every discipline. Unfortunately, we have to pick a focus. This was difficult for me, and even as a junior I question if I’ve made the right decision by dedicating my time to the study of journalism. While journalism is my major, I’ve chosen to minor in both French and creative writing, though I doubt that double minors are common.

The Internet is a tool I use constantly for the purposes of entertainment, communication and education. Since coming to college, I’ve taken advantage of the access I have to databases of journal articles and online books. Most recently, I’ve been studying the science of linguistics in my spare time. While Elon University’s library has books on the subject, it’s much more convenient for me to use the Internet for study. I can access hundreds of scientific articles and reports via online databases while I’m sitting in my bedroom. I may never have the opportunity to take the linguistics class that Elon offers, but because I have so much access to information on the Internet, I feel less like I’m missing out.

'''Meredith Larkin http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ns-OhqJuzNs

Love Connections Inspire on OneWebDay'''

I have found “the one.” The only things separating us from a life of bliss are nine hours, 529 miles, five states and two full tanks of gas… all on a college student’s budget. Without an online connection to the Internet, our connection to each other for the next two years that I’m away at school would be on the line. Of course we send each other emails, pictures and videos to share our experiences, but the Internet provides so much more for nurturing our unconventional relationship. As an actor working in New York, he can send me the link to see his role in a new music video; we can vote for the video on a music countdown site and then buy the single off iTunes. Meanwhile I, in North Carolina, can send him links to the videos I create for my journalism classes, keep him updated on my working blog and buy my plane ticket home to see him, all conveniently online. Also, the Internet helps cut the cost of a long distance relationship. Though we don’t spend money on dates, my phone bills for the first few months I was away made my mom and dad cry. The Internet has helped us connect during the day through email, and then we can use the phone at night when we both have free minutes. People tend to view the Internet as an organizational tool; as something that can speed up our already busy lives, but I see it quite differently. For me, it is more personal, and instead I can slow down, relax and connect with the one I love through an email with, “Baaaaaaabbeee! I miss you!” written on the subject line.

'''Daniel Temple http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-HgK-0aQ3U

Serving into the Net'''

On July 25, 2008, Google search discovered 1 trillion unique URLs or web addresses.

It is remarkable when you stop to consider the vastness of the Internet and how it is still continuing to grow. It links people worldwide and allows for the sharing of news and opinions. As a college student, I certainly use the internet for research but how else do I utilize this wealth of information? This is an example of a typical day for me as it relates to the internet.

9:30 am - Wake up, roll over to computer to check the local weather and my email.

10:30 am - Walk to class a few minutes early so I can browse news and sports sites. Check my email.

10:55 am - Check my online blog that I’m keeping for class. Update the site with new material.

11:30 am - Search my online college site for special events and functions.

12:30 pm - “Surf” the internet for about an hour looking at Facebook, Wikipedia, Collegehumor and various sports sites. Check email.

3:30 pm - Visit MapQuest for directions to bank in Greensboro. Simultaneously check the bank’s site to check my current balance.

5:15 pm - Find local TV listings on the net to determine if there is anything worth watching tonight.

5:30 pm - Check local weather for tonight as well as email.

6:30 pm - Use internet for homework. Online time could be as long as several hours.

9:45 pm - Search local movie theater show times for the weekend.

10:15 pm - Browse Facebook a final time. Check email for the night.

The internet makes us capable of doing just about anything. From financial trading to Christmas shopping, the internet has changed the way I function as a person. So what would happen if the internet suddenly disappeared? What would I do if such a disaster ever occurred? First thing is I would try to log on and search MSNBC.com to see what was going on.

'''Lesley Cowie http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NusngA3WYUM

Internet As a Portal to the Past'''

My mother graduated from Irvington High School in 1971. At this time, there was no Facebook, MySpace or Classmates.com. She kept in touch with friends by calling or writing them.

She was skeptical of the Internet when it first came out. My mother continued to call and write her former classmates. She waited until the class reunion to see who her friends had become.

After 15 years, the Internet has developed into a monumental source of information. Younger generations rely on the Internet to purchase clothes, furniture and other items. They have become so loyal to the Internet that many of their daily tasks revolve around the computer.

My mother’s computer literacy has grown tremendously in the past 15 years. She now checks her email every day and has an account on Classmates.com. She would have accounts on MySpace and Facebook if she could figure out how to do it. Thankfully, she has not reached that point…yet.

While browsing the web, my mother stumbled across a website titled, “Irvington Remembered.” The site, created by one of her old friends, features a variety of photos from the 1970s. She even saw pictures of herself.

The lengthy website includes photos, newspaper clippings and programs. My mother scrolled for days recalling old names, faces and memories.

She contacted her friend and volunteered to contribute some of her old photos. This required digging through years of photo albums, scanning the appropriate pictures, and sending the files as attachments. Of course, my mother enlisted my help.

We spent hours laughing at the clothing styles and the doodlings on the photos. Ultimately, I ended up burning the photos to a CD and asking my mother to mail them to her friend. We are currently waiting for the site administrator to add our pictures to the page.

'''Hannah Williams http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AFZoAEKK8-U

The World’s Greatest Personal Assistant'''

Spending a semester abroad, studying in Copenhagen, Denmark, and traveling Europe by myself, for the first time, could have been completely overwhelming. Could have been, but wasn’t. I brought along my trusty companion: my laptop. Equipped with an Internet connection, I knew it could do practically anything.

Research assistant. Collaboration manager. Submissions service. Regardless of the stereotypes, I did STUDY abroad. I even collaborated with my mentor, Elon University Professor Brooke Barnett, to apply for a Lumen Prize, which enables me to research media rhetoric in terrorism coverage over the next two years. Without the Internet, I wouldn’t have had the information to complete my proposal, nor the resources to submit my application (at 6 a.m. in Dublin) and win one of the prizes. My Lumen work is now underway, thanks to the Internet.

Travel agent. Tour guide. Trip advisor. Five months in Europe is not a long time, especially for a girl determined to experience as much of the great continent as possible. Searching online, I was able to make arrangements to travel by plane, train and automobile to 11 countries. Thanks to other travelers’ tips and online city guides, I toured the Cliffs of Moor in Ireland, Loch Ness in Scotland and the Swiss Alps. Weather.com helped me assess what to pack. Thanks to the Internet, I had an umbrella in Krakow.

Communicator. Photo album. Friend. Six time zones may have separated us for over five months, but I never lost touch with my friends and family. We exchanged stories, complained about homework and shared photos. We weren’t charged any international calling fees or any international postage. My best friend shared her wedding plans via AOL Instant Messenger. My uncles emailed me photos of my newly adopted cousins. I assured my parents that I was alive by posting on my blog. I scheduled virtual face-to-face time with friends via Skype. No lag time, no waiting. Six hours difference, halfway around the world and I had my friends at my fingertips. Literally. All thanks to the Internet.

To see a photo of Williams in Denmark, go to: http://www.news-record.com/content/2008/09/22/article/onewebday_studying_traveling_socializing.

'''Ryan Catanese http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YEpP5jGS9ws

Making the Impossible Possible'''

The internet has many different functions in our society. From checking the weather to checking your e-mail, the internet has become a staple in average American life. With just a couple of clicks, I can read the news, read up on political candidates, or watch archived episodes of my favorite television shows. To me, however, the greatest asset of the internet is its power to connect people.

The internet makes things that used to be impossible possible.

It would be an understatement to say that my family is a bit spread out. I have an aunt in Seattle and an aunt in Florida. I have an uncle in New York and another in Jamaica. My brother is in Oregon, my cousin is in New Orleans, and my uncle, well, we never really know where he is.

Regardless, I can hear my aunt in New York’s newest joke and keep updated on the effects of hurricanes on my aunt in Jamaica.

The internet makes this possible.

My friends are only more scattered. I have friends from Kentucky to California, from Massachussetts to Australia to Switzerland. Without the internet, It would certainly be difficult for me to stay in contact with all of these people, and I am no special case. In the past, there were people that never left the streets of their village. In today’s society, however, it is much cheaper and easier to travel these long distances.

I can send my brother my writing and I can have free daily conversations with my friend in Australia.

The internet makes this possible.

Yes, it is true that the internet is a great tool for education, a great resource to stay informed, and an even better source of entertainment. But what is truly great about the internet is its power to connect people.

The internet makes things possible.

'''Rachel Cieri http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhY1CayjC7Q

Wireless Reconnections Born'''

As a child, I was cared for by a series of Au Pairs, live-in nannies from abroad. Each typically stayed with my family for a year, caring for my younger brothers and me while experiencing life in the U.S. and improving her English before returning to Europe. A few were like older sisters to me and connected with my family so well that we stayed in touch for years afterward, sending letters back and forth. Both Angeline, a French woman who was 19 at the time, and Karen, a 20-year-old Norwegian, always sent Christmas cards and visited whenever they were in “the States,” but our correspondence eventually dwindled.

Then nearly 10 years later, I got an e-mail from Angeline, who had just gotten Internet access in her home. Although I was nearly the age she’d been when she stayed with us and her English was not what it had been, it was as though nothing had changed. I got to see pictures from her wedding, and she even invited my family to visit her in Paris.

A few years later, I got a Facebook friend request from Karen. I hadn’t thought about her in years, but I reconnected with her to discover that she was married and see pictures of her 3-year-old daughter. She was thrilled to see how my brothers and I had grown up and was eager to practice her English again. I’m still in touch with her to this day.

Even across an ocean, people are able to find one another to re-establish old relationships. It was hard to believe that the young adults who chased me around and forced me to finish my homework in grade school now have families of their own. Without the Internet, I never would have reconnected with the women who were once such an important part of my life and helped me grow into the person I am today.

'''Christina Edwards http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cu0uN5pl_wo

''Us? Lazy? Try Crazy-Busy'

I’ve been told by many people, my parents, teachers, and other respected adults, that the Internet is making my generation lazy. The Internet is cutting out face-to-face contact. Instead making the effort to pick up the phone, or meet someone face to face, ‘us kids’ just send an email; it’s impersonal. We use Wikipedia and Google instead of physically going the library. We’re limiting our interaction with the world by not physically going out in it.

I strongly beg to differ. In fact, for me, the Internet has strengthened friendships by allowing easy contact; I can’t use the excuse of being too busy to stay in touch with friends from high school because it takes two minutes to check Facebook and leave a few messages. Without internet access, it would be so easy to get caught up in the entire new world college places you in; sometimes, it’s nice to have that instant connection to the familiar. It would not be possible with a heavy class workload and an abundance of extracurriculars to sit down and call my mom for an hour every day. An email lets her know what is going on and allows us to communicate on both of our busy schedules. Using the Internet is not about avoiding communication. It’s about wishing to sustain it.

I also feel that access to the Internet has opened me up to parts of the world I otherwise would be left out of. I’m heavily interested in theatre. I live 14 hours from New York City and the entire Broadway scene. Youtube clips introduce me to shows; online websites keep me informed and open me to other opinions. As a result, I’ve been able to cultivate an interest that has become a huge part of who I am: I’m the girl who can tell you anything about musical theatre in the past two decades and someday would like to combine my love of writing with the my love for theatre.

The internet doesn’t take my generation out of the physical world. It fully immerses us in it.

'''Miriam Williamson http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zUdXaaudiuQ

Reconnection and Constant Connection'''

Summer camp loves. Most kids have them at some point in their life. Mine came when I was in seventh grade. He was 16, I was 13. He lived in North Carolina, I lived in Tennessee. Leaving camp was heartbreaking.

But with the Internet, we kept in touch. We continued to talk via AOL Instant Messenger nearly every day. But as summer ended, so did our young romance.

Throughout high school, I still thought of him occasionally, wondering what he was doing, where he was living and how his life had turned out. We talked less and less because he joined the Marine Corps, but according to him he just “did the sad, safe, pretty boy job of carrying the caskets.” He would tell me the heartbreaking stories of carrying a casket of someone he was in boot camp with, or comforting a young marine’s mother. We would talk maybe four times a year, just catching up, until my junior year.

Then there was the long silence. I didn’t know what he was doing, where he was living or even if he was OK.

In the fall of my senior year though, I logged on to AIM while working on homework. At one point, I went downstairs for a break, and then returned to my computer. I was excited to find an instant message from him, but the content was less exciting. It said something along these lines:

“Hi. I just wanted to let you know I ended up going to Iraq. I was shot three times, and so I came home and was in the ICU for a long time. I actually ended up marrying my girlfriend because we didn’t think I was going to make it.”

I was shocked. I made a post on my blog I shared with friends about my teenage angst and high school troubles, telling them what had happened. He responded on that, assuring me he was OK and that I didn’t need to worry.

Since then, we have only spoken once or twice, and I assume he has deleted his Instant Messenger name. I have looked for him using Facebook and other Internet tools without luck.

But had it not been for the Internet, I never would have even known what had happened to him or even been able to stay in touch for as long as we did.

'''Russell Varner http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ulLO6rkhAdI

A Cool Tool for People to be Close'''

The Internet is the most important invention in the past 100 years and possibly even in human history. It makes a huge difference in everybody’s lives, particularly my own. I was born in Los Angeles and moved out to Charlotte when I was ten years old. Thanks to the Internet, I have been able to get in contact with my old friends for the first time in ten years. It is incredible to see just how much everyone you knew has changed and where they all are today. It brings up so many memories of the past that you can reminisce about with your old buddies. It is great to see all my old friends and try to explain to them where Elon University is (I have offered $100 to any of them if they can guess it. So far, the closest guess has been in the middle of Virginia. If you don’t know, Elon is located in the middle of North Carolina).

Another important part of the Internet for me is the ability to keep up with any sports team no matter where you are. I am still a fan of the Los Angeles Dodgers and Lakers, as well as the soccer team AC Milan, which is located in Milan, Italy. As you can imagine, it is very hard to keep up with these teams on a regular basis when you live in North Carolina. But, thanks to the marvels of the Internet, I can keep up with all the latest news, stats, photos and stories of my favorite teams. In fact, I can even watch their games online when I cannot get them on my television. It is incredible to be able to watch almost all of the Dodger regular season games thanks to mlb.tv when you live in the middle of Atlanta Braves country. (If you are a baseball fan and don’t know what mlb.tv is, look it up immediately as soon as you finish reading this).

The Internet has definitely played a major role in my life and it is very hard to imagine my life without it, from keeping up with friends to keeping up with my favorite teams to looking up things for my homework.

Molley Sentell Haile (no video)

Finding Love in the Strangest Places

Like so many others claim, I, too, have found love via the Internet. And, also in league with some others, I have ventured down the darker path of Internet deception.

It started out of simple curiosity, really a lark (I told myself) late one night. I'd responded to my e-mail, even read through the cautionary and humorous chain e-mails. I read through warnings about Purell and the funny YouTube links knowing that I was licking the bottom of the bowl. Time to close up shop and go to bed, I told myself.

On this night, though, I didn't shut down the computer, call it a day and read a good book before bed.

Instead, I grabbed another bowlful of my kids' Cinnamon Toast Crunch and Googled the phrase that had been teasing the back recesses of my mind for months now: "rescue dogs for adoption North Carolina."

Of course, I wasn't serious about this. I had agreed with my rational husband that three kids and a messy house were plenty for us. Pets were out of the question.

It didn't take long for Google, the handmaiden of Internet delight and demise, to lead me to www.petfinder.com, a national Web site that lists abandoned pets awaiting adoption.

I typed in my ZIP code, chose "dog" and then their sweet faces appeared and called to me like the sirens that pulled Odysseus astray: Molly the Pointer, Honey the Hound, Sandy the Poodle. The dogs on Petfinder.com come from county shelters and nonprofit rescue organizations.

After my first taste of Petfinder.com, I wanted more ... and more. I began doing elaborate advanced searches. Like so many with their Internet obsessions, I relied on the little bar in the right-hand corner to minimize my Petfinder sweethearts if I heard my husband's footsteps headed in my direction. It was a kind of illicit fun, I admit, but nothing significant, I told myself.

That is until Smiley. Smiley, a border collie/beagle mix, popped up on my screen one night, and I knew I'd never come back from this place the same. Sweetest canine face I'd ever seen. The words "sweet soul ... living happily with a toddler" grabbed me. After much reassurance, negotiation, and a little coercion, my husband agreed to a two-week trial period and, shortly after, adoption.

Smiley's gentle and loving way has brought redemption, tenderness and a lot of fur to a household briefly wrought with a wandering wife's secret obsession.

To see a photo of Molly and Smiley, go to: http://www.news-record.com/content/2008/09/22/article/onewebday_love_in_the_strangest_places.

Emily Silva (no video)

Internet Glitch Halts Friend Connection

I’ve grown up in a world where the Internet is everyone’s lifeline. I check my email and Facebook account an average of 30 times a day and there isn’t a homework assignment I don’t use Google for – in some way.

My generation has been bred for speed. The Internet’s ability to send and receive information in, literally, the blink of an eye only makes us want things to go even faster. We keep catching up to ourselves and creating technological advancements before we fully learn to operate the previous addition. Sometimes we don’t realize advancements may both help us and hurt us in some way.

My best friend, Lauren, goes to Boston College. It was hard for us when we decided to go to schools so far apart from one another because we’re inseparable when we’re at home. When we arrived at our respective universities freshman year, we decided the Internet would be the main medium connecting us.

Even though we’re over 800 miles apart, we tell each other everything and talk non-stop; we are always on AIM while we work on homework. Last week, I signed onto AIM and double clicked on her screen name; nothing happened. Double click again; nothing. I immediately called her to explain the bizarre situation and we couldn’t figure out why she was the only person on my buddy list with whom I couldn’t communicate.

Almost a week went by with us texting and writing on each other’s Facebook walls more than usual in upset over the technological problem. Finally, her friend from school informed me that I needed to upgrade to the new version of AOL. He said Lauren already had and therefore our two versions were not working in synch.

After installing the upgrade, Lauren and I were able to chat as usual. It was strange to see just how much our culture depends on the Internet to keep us connected. It’s not something we really think about since our entire lives have revolved around this high-tech phenomenon.

Noelle Clemente (no video)

A Glimpse At My Window

Every morning when I wake up I make coffee and check my e-mail. I have my school account and my personal account. Even just these windows will tell you most everything about my life. My school e-mail is full of assignments, meeting times, updates, and the junk mail from shopping sites that I did not want to have my personal account information. My personal account includes cheesy forwards from my step-father (who at the age of 61 just recently discovered the hilarity of the internet), stories from my roommate studying abroad, and my style.com updates.

The best part about my personal account is the gmail chat.

Google While I check my e-mail I chat with my sister from her office in Baltimore, MD. I tell her how tired I am and how much work I have. I mostly talk, she tells me to not procrastinate. I retort that it is not my fault! It is the Internet.

Shopping I have all my bookmarks and they make it so easy to create a new tab and just give Anthropologie or J.Crew a quick look. I could click my way through BlueFly for hours and not know what happened. I never buy, only look, but the temptation is certainly at my fingertips.

Facebook Fashion trends are not the only thing I keep up with on the internet. Friendships are so easy to maintain with new social networks. They make it simple for me to keep in touch with friends from grade school and friends studying abroad.

The internet is the best and worst thing that has happened to my generation. My hope is that we can keep these windows in perspective with the outside world—just look out a window!

Keegan Calligar (no video)

Chaotic, Overwhelming and Incredibly Important

The internet is one of my favorite things. As any computer user knows, the internet has an endless amount of information, and though it can become chaotic and overwhelming, the benefits of the internet far outweigh its negative aspects.

The following are reasons why I love the internet:  Easy Access to Information A quick Google search of “T.S. Eliot Waste Land” returns nearly 360,000 hits, and many of those websites contain interpretations of the poem. It would take an exorbitant amount of time to look up even 100 books, read through them and then record the information needed. Instead, I can open a website, enter a term in the ‘find’ function and instantly get the information I need.

Instant News I try to always be aware of what is going on in the news. Just 15 or so years ago, the best source of instant news was the radio or television. Now, it’s not even imperative to watch the nightly news, though it certainly helps. Instead, I can get breaking news instantly sent to my email – convenient and fast.

Entertainment Though I am not a very active user, I do have a MySpace account to discover new music. I absolutely love music, and in my free time, I really enjoy finding new bands. Because bands can put their music on the site for free, there are countless bands on MySpace, much to my delight.

Keeping in Touch I’ll be the first to admit that I spend too much time on Facebook. However, I truly believe that it is a powerful tool for keeping in touch. I’m not much of a phone person; I rarely call friends, even my best friend of 12 years, and primarily use Facebook to talk to them. Though it may be impersonal, it’s definitely more convenient.

Dan Rickershauser (no video)

Music Tells How Incredible the Internet Is

When people think about how the internet has changed music, most will tell you how the music industry has collapsed, or how people have since traded in their compact discs for iPods and mp3s. Yet, what you have not heard about is the new generation of music fans that have picked up the pieces of the music industry’s downfall to usher in an entirely new era in the ways that we enjoy music. Were I to tell you the most significant impact of the internet on my life, it would undoubtedly be how it has revolutionized the ways I go about finding all kinds of music.

As a 21-year-old, I can hardly remember the days when my music taste would have been confined to artists I heard on the radio, on television, or from the recommendation of a close friend with mix-taping abilities. Most of the years I have been listening to music, I have been able to seek it out from all kinds of sources. Today’s providers of music include music blogs, services like last Last.fm and Pandora, close friends with the ability to hit send on the computer, and so on. A whole community of music listeners, both young and old, have been liberated from the confinements of an industry-dominated culture that once was Rock n’ Roll.

So you say you want a revolution? I say the changes are well on their way for music listeners. My knowledge of music doesn’t stop with songs I have heard on the radio, or records that I happen to own, it stops where I choose it to. And that’s the power of our limitless world of the World Wide Web, to bring us that much closer to the things in life we are most passionate about.