Have you seen the monster.com commercial with the ginormous-legged man pedaling the gyroscope at the center of the earth? That’s one of the first things I thought of when I first heard someone say the internet is the center of the universe. Then in my mind I began seeing someone deep in the earth’s core making all of these connections — kind of antique switchboard style. Then as I allowed my mind to expand and catch up with reality I realized how undeniably true that statement is.
How many things do you do in your daily life that have nothing to do with the internet? For me that’s a short list. I practically live online and I’m not all that young anymore. My kids and the young kids I’m surrounded by at work live their lives more immersed in the digital world than I, which is a little hard to believe. And it just keeps expanding and people continue to dream up new ways of being connected. Just a few days ago I read a brief update in Fast Company that told how we’re not that far away from our appliances being connected to the digital space. Can you imagine having your refrigerator sending you a text message that your milk is going bad and you’d better pick up a fresh gallon?
This past weekend I decided to experiment with Twitter so I went online and created my account and began twitting (you can follow me here but it’s not that exciting). Very quickly I discovered my 21 year old son twitting with some of our creative staff at Premier Studios. So being a good dad I signed up to follow him (that could have been very handy when he was younger). I found out he was sitting in a Saturday class wishing he were sleeping instead. I immediately jumped on iChat and before the program could fully open a window opened with the words, “sup Dad,” and Ryan and I began a chat while he was in class in Idaho and I was sitting in a hotel room more than 1500 miles away.
And yes, I told him to get offline and pay attention to the lecture — I may be connected but I’m still a dad.
I love the colors and layout of this!
Man, how true this post is! I cannot remember how I got through the day without the internet. Crazy to think that there was a day, not that long ago, that I had never even touched a computer. Even crazier to think of is that there are people out there like my twin brother that have spent probably less time online than anybody I know. Then there is my grandmother who can zip around the internet like a pro. Little old ladies with the internet at there fingertips kinda scares me.
Would that be the Nathan Johnson I knew since Bridgeway, who, if I remember right, lived on Old St. Charles and was friends with Doug Lightfoot? If it is, please tell him hello for me.
I love this blog. It’s well written and, although you addressed the miraculous concept of this technology, you kept it grounded and human by using your son and you as Dad. Thanks for sharing with us, Mark.
Becky