The Net

  This is an essay I got to write while applying for a new college. I liked the idea and i wanted to share it with the world.

Also, a few of the the thoughts are much better expressed in The Icarus Deception found here:

http://www.amazon.com/The-Icarus-Deception-High-Will/dp/1591846072/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1374801279&sr=8-1&keywords=the+icarus+deception

 Go read it. Now!


  As man first emerged from his cave and gazed up into the stars, he wondered if he was alone. He sought comfort in others, and began to form communities. Each person spent his life building relationships, gaining friends and acquaintances. As mankind has advanced through time we have grown to larger and larger communities. We’ve created cities, and suburbs, and nations. But still man was alone, still we were separated by distance, by time, or by language. Until the Net.

    I remember times without the internet, and I remember being able to live without it. however, it has now permeated so much of our daily, personal and professional lives, that it’s hard to remember how we even functioned as a society, before it came about.

    The internet has changed everything. before its emergence, people were still segregated into remote communities, almost everyone a person was acquainted with lived relatively closely. People received news that was spun from newspapers or off of television, and research was done with books.

    Research. This seems like a pretty obvious advantage, considering my current frame of mind. When i was in Middle school i remember trying to write a report on the poem “The Raven” by Edgar Allen Poe. In order to do research on the poem, i visited the library, checked out a book of his collected works, borrowed a biography, furiously squeezed as much information out of the single paragraph of my text book, and wrote.

    A few days ago, i was speaking to a coworker, about “The Raven” and mentioned how it was my favorite poem. To my horror, he had never heard of it. I was aghast! So in order to help educate my poor lost coworker, i again researched the poem. This time. I pulled up the poem on a webpage, and emailed him a link to the poem, as well as a link to Eddie’s Wiki page. The ease of finding out any information (both factual and erroneous) with the click of a mouse button is staggering.

    The most important effect the net has had on our lives however, is one of connectivity. We can now be connected with anyone from anywhere with a few keystrokes. Social Media, Blogs, Videos, Wiki’s, the ways people connect is limitless. People sharing their thoughts, and feelings. putting themselves out there and hoping to make that special connection. The net has given us something special. it has given us a kind of freedom that in unparalleled in history. Anyone can do anything, and they can get it out to other people.

    If someone is a musician. They don’t need to hope to get signed to a record deal, and they don’t have to simply play in bars. If someone wants to get his music out there, he simply posts it on a blog, or a social network. If someone loves to write, they can simply write, post, and share their gift with the world. If someone wants to make people laugh, they can post videos on YouTube, and share their wit with the world. We no longer have to ask people’s permission to dream. We can finally connect, we can finally be whatever we want to be, without even needing to leave the home. Man has spent his entire existence trying to be close to others, and this is the closest we have come. And its a time when we are in separate rooms, still separated by distance, but connected by the net.