5 Reasons Why I Love The Internet
In 1995, I made a great transition from the walled-gardens of online behemoth Prodigy to an open and undiscovered world called the “Internet.” I left behind proprietary graphics for a Unix shell account at Wayne State University with all the fixings of command line world: Pine, Gopher, News and a host of other tools unfamiliar to me at the time (The “world wide web” was soon to go live.)
This was during a time before I adopted Windows and DOS still ruled my desktop. Regardless, my imagination ran wild even without a GUI and nice graphics. I spent hours searching the libraries of universities around the world using Gopher, public databases and anything else I could find to feed my raging appetite for information consumption. Suddenly, I realized the world was truly at my fingertips and it was a defining moment in my life as a budding technologist and entrepreneur. I’d struck gold!
Now some 12 years later, the opportunity which is the Internet is more profound and inspiring than ever. I’ve witnessed several shifts within this span of time. We’ve gone from text-based browsing (Lynx) to a rich world of engaging experiences which encompass e-commerce, social networking, dictionaries and so much more. What’s more impressive is that through this evolution of great progress, one thing has remained constant: The markup of the Internet known as HTML (Hypertext Markup Language.) This “language of the Internet” can give anyone a global presence in as little as 30 minutes with a basic set of code. Wow!
Thus, here are 5 reasons why I love the Internet — and why I chose it for long-term success, starting just two years ago:
Unlimited, global reach
We seem to take for granted the opportunity we have before us. What would the world be like today without the Internet? Imagine if the Pony Express was still our most viable mechanism for transporting documents today — It would suck. However, thanks to our advances in technology and the development of digital platforms, we can now instantly publish information anytime, anywhere with just a few simple keystrokes.
Consider this site. It took just just 10 minutes to type this entry and make it available for global consumption. How great is that?
Unlimited opportunity
The Internet is an incubator for great ideas. In the early 90s, we witnessed Jerry Yang and Yahoo! take over the world with their development of the search engine to comb through thousands of web pages and make them easily accessible via a simple interface. Simply amazing. The best part? The innovation continues and we now have a new world of ideas which are flourishing with great success (Google, Second Life, etc.)
Realistically, one can do almost anything they wish on the Internet. It’s only a matter of discovering a “sticky” idea and exploiting its full potential. There aren’t any limits or boundaries.
Instant testbed
The world is truly your playground. We can launch new tools and technology to a global audience for feedback and testing purposes. There’s an unlimited pool of resources from which we can take advantage of, simply because the world enjoys trying new things — especially technology.
Great community, great people
While the world at large might appear dark and ugly, there are actually great people out there who can be found in various online forums, Twitter and usenet groups. A great example would be the developer communities for the Linux kernel or Asterisk. Those guys are teeming with knowledge and are always ready to take on any challenge as it presents itself.
So, whenever you’re faced with a challenging proposition, or need some sort of guidance or understanding on any given topic or area, there’s always a community of people out there who are willing to help.
Information, information, information
Never before has the world been so connected. We’ve truly achieved the “World at your fingertips” adage. One can spend years mining the information and data which is readily accessible to us from anywhere in the world. The thought of so much information is often overwhelming. It’s truly amazing and a testament to how far we’ve advanced this great platform.
Everything from law to health is only seconds away. Have at it — and enjoy the journey.
Denver’s First Snow of the Season
Imagine my surprise this morning to see fresh snow blanketing the neighborhood. I suppose that Winter isn’t too far away.
Reality Check, America
For many years, I’ve attempted to understand our people and society. I’ve turned over every stone, asked many questions and read many materials over the years for answers. At 28, I’m still at a loss and I’m not confident that I’ll ever understand.
The greatest source of frustration in my life has always been the analytical side of me. I have to understand anything which poses itself as a challenge and attempt to reach a resolution. Unfortunately, this doesn’t work so easily for social constructs and people.
Thus, with all I’ve learned and presently understand, nothing amuses me more than to live in a society which is:
1. Hypocritical
2. Immoral
3. Prejudice
4. Materialistic
5. Greedy
6. Isolated
7. Judgmental
Before we throw stones upon another (such as President Bush, as an example), I’d like to recommend your nearest mirror for a self-check.
What’s REALLY Important To Us? (Where Were You …)
What is truly important in life? Is it our achievements, or when we do things which are worthy of gossip to feed the endless drama cycle human beings are so addicted to? In just five short months, I’ve gone from the unknown Justin.TV lifecaster who regularly spends 10+ hours each week building community, to an international personality the world loves to hate. Where was the world during the last 27.5 years of my life?
Where were you while I was interviewing everyone from Craig Newmark to Kevin Rose? Where were you when I was breaking major news on my blog which got overlooked by the majors? Where were you when I was bridging relationships with the world’s leading CEOs? Where were you during the many moments of my lifecast where I profusely thanked someone for their service? Where were you when I gave a tip to a server who didn’t deserve it? Where were you during my crappy relationships where I simply wanted love, respect and commitment? Where were you when I created my own PR campaigns and secured coverage for my projects in the Detroit News, Nashville Business Journal and other media oulets? Where were you when I gave money to the homeless? Where were you when I talked to Cisco about sponsorship of my podcast? Where were you when my father died? Where were you when I called for our nation to put an end to social constructs? Where were you when I got the exclusive interviews prior to the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and other mainstream outlets? Where were you when someone’s child said they loved me?
Nah, no one bothered to take interest in anything I mentioned above. No one took the time to see the life of a good and decent person who has only asked for the basics in return from others. Instead, you chose to gossip about one of the most meaningless and baseless portions of my life. What about everything else? Is all that matters in the world is when we’re pissed off, or when we’re frustrated with life and people? Does my life’s work and who I am as an individual not matter? How is it that I can achieve so much in life without mention, yet a minute-long video can have the world in chatter?
What is really important in our society today?
Bethesda Chef To Open New Restaurant
Chef Tony Marciante and his partner Iddi Diarra are preparing for a great venture in their nine year friendship this November: A new, upscale restaurant. Chef Tony and I have been in contact for the past year and I’m quite excited about his new restaurant! It’s always great to know people who make food an art.
I’m certain that Chef Tony and his partner will rock the socks off of Bethesda!
Keep track of Chef Tony’s progress via his blog or the official Visions web site.