Life on the Internet
When I first got introduced to the internet, it was a place where you went to escape the real world. Where screen names like LatinPimp7724 were common and away messages with details of where you were going and how to reach you on your parents’ cellphone were the proper etiquette on AIM.
I remember the time when going on the internet required us to schedule a time with the family otherwise we would miss important calls at home. Even more dramatic, I remember when we had to let the WHOLE house know not to pick up the phone or otherwise the Napster download of Eminem’s LP may not download properly.
In 2003 the internet was a funky place for a 15-year-old like me. I remember going on Yahoo Games playing billiards and poker with the chatroom on the side popping off with things like A/S/L (for those too young to understand that means Age/Sex/Location). The internet was really young, anonymity was common and your s/n was valuable real estate both on and off the playground.
In high school, our teachers would lecture us about how everything on Wikipedia was inaccurate and not to be trusted. I recall one time in my social studies class when my teacher would warn us that if she saw Wikipedia or any dot com site on our bibliography it would be an automatic “F.”
Oh, the wonderful days of the early internet.
When they came after Napster, the genius of the internet created LimeWire and KaZaa, the true OGs of the P2P movement, for the world to share music, videos, photos, and viruses…. Lots of viruses. To this day I still wonder how my lime green, custom-built virus-infected computer with a disc burner booted up. My dad would build us some crazy computers because as a true immigrant he would say, “they work just the same as the Dell, Gateways, and Apple computers you want.” Looking back, he was right… sort of.
Speaking of disc burners, remember making a playlist for your sweethearts? How about making CDs for your friends and selling them on the bus for $3-5 apiece? Oh, man the age of convergence where the digital supplemented the analog. What a time to be alive.
We’ve come along way from those early days of the internet— and thank God we have. Today, music is streamed, people connect, communities are built, careers are made, talent is shared, lovers meet, Wikipedia is a trusted source, and I’ll give it to my teachers, the internet is still filled with misinformation and inaccuracy— but I am not here to write about this.
Today the internet is a world of its own.
When I look around in the midst of a global pandemic most of my life is supported and amplified thanks to the internet. We have blogs, magazines, Youtube, Twitter, Academia, Knowledge sharing and so much more. Today the internet rewards its creators who build value and put their REAL names out there for the world to see.
A lot has changed since those days back in 2003 but there are still a lot of similarities that have evolved in their own way today. Without the internet, the 15-year-old me who was bullied and made fun of would not be able to find his tribe of thinkers, creators, and friends who not only understand our quirkiness but go above beyond to celebrate it.
The internet is far from perfect but so is the real world. Today, I chose to celebrate how wonderful it has been to grow up with the internet. It has brought a new meaning to connection in a time of isolation. Where friendships flourish, people are celebrated, and the human touch is augmented for all of humanity to benefit. Because of the internet, millions of people can make a living and live life on their own terms. For myself, the internet has given me the opportunity to make a living helping people turn their dreams into reality.
During my daily walk with Monet, our Shiba Inu, on our property in Jackson Hole, I found myself in a state of gratitude for all of the achievements, milestones, friendships, and opportunities that I have garnered in my life. And in that simple moment, it hit me, “Thank You internet.”
