Written Words

I have been using the Internet regularly since 1991.   In 1991 there wasn’t much there compared to what we have today.   Back then, we used things like “Usenet”, “Gopher”, “Elm”, and this new thing that was just starting called the “World Wide Web”.   “WWW” was just some linked text and you could find a few research papers.   I wrote a paper in college about the Super Collider project in Texas.   I was actually able to download some internal memos from CERN that I used in my research.    If you know your Internet history you’ll understand why I was able to find those documents on this new web thing.    In any case, I’ve pretty much been using the web since its beginnings.  

I now use the Internet every day.   Pretty much everyone does.  I don’t know anyone that is not connected.  I do research for my job.    I’m Facebook friends with people I see every day and some that I haven’t seen in over 25 years.  I write a daily blog with a massive readership.   I Tweet from time to time.   I’m Linked In.    I get about 100 emails a day, most of which I delete without reading.   I’ve got a pretty solid online presence.  

The online world still scares me.   I understand how it works better than most.   I can avoid viruses, or at least clean them up when I get them.   I know where security is weak and where it’s strong and can behave accordingly.    I know when it’s safe to use credit cards and even why it is.   None of those kinds of things scare me.   What scares me is the persistent nature of the written word.   Once I post something, or send something, it’s forever.    Spoken words fade quickly.   Our memories, believe me on this one, suck!  We really don’t remember half as much as we think we do.   That’s why we write things down.    That’s why things that are written down are forever.   Every time I write something I have to consider who is going to read it and what they are going to think.    Who will misinterpret what I said?  Who will read too much into it?   Who won’t understand my “Den of Earth” joke?   It’s scary.   I think that may be part of why I like it though.   A little discomfort in this regard, is not a bad thing.