tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10166090.post3208069342702090729..comments2024-02-17T07:59:18.705-08:00Comments on Grad Student Madness: Lingering onlineRufushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17762279210783841414noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10166090.post-38285003457136318762009-06-09T18:28:03.925-07:002009-06-09T18:28:03.925-07:00Claire: for some reason, I don't think of you ...Claire: for some reason, I don't think of you as coming from the Internet- just more really good luck or maybe fate. But, of course, there's really not much chance I'd have wound up in Canada otherwise. As for Lola, the jury's still out!<br /><br />Holly: I'm expecting a backlash any day now, actually. I don't know if I'm part of it- I'm becoming more of a moderate than anti-net. Mostly, I'm just not logging on until evening, and then for shorter periods of time. <br /><br />But I definitely know a lot of people who are growing weary of the daily Internet grind. I will admit that there have been periods of time in which I used this site like a broken walkie-talkie: transmitting stuff, but not reading anything else on the net.<br /><br />I did see an interview with writer Hakim Bey on French television last year in which they asked him if he was online and his response was flatly 'No' because he thinks the net is deeply counter-revolutionary and that the next big cultural revolution will be people abandoning it. <br /><br />Maybe it'll be like the 70s 'back to the land' movement... Back to tangible physical space!Rufushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17762279210783841414noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10166090.post-51266745567443642372009-06-09T00:04:10.739-07:002009-06-09T00:04:10.739-07:00When our cat was diagnosed with diabetes, I found ...When our cat was diagnosed with diabetes, I found the internet to be a fountain of helpful information. Of course, being the internet, that information had to be verified, and it took an ENORMOUS amount of time to research in this way. <br /><br />However, I have no regrets about the time spent--vets seem to be at least 10 years behind in their knowledge of feline diabetes, and the available published lay literature possibly further.<br /><br />As a result of this, I got involved in an online Feline Diabetes forum. The FD forum is all volunteer run. Because they gave me a lot of help (and still do), I've been volunteering time there for the last year--answering questions, helping newly diagnosed folks get going, etc.<br /><br />Although it is rewarding to feel like I'm helping people, it has given me a profound desire to avoid that site. I still like to read the internet, but my patience with it is really limited. Just as we could rummage the internet endlessly for interesting tidbits, <b>everyone else can, too</b>. And all that content has to come from somewhere. From someONE. <br /><br />Like you, I check in with my "newspapers" and then I move on to other stuff. I still volunteer time & experience on the FD forum, but... I'm sick of it. I'm actually glad when the site is down. It's draining, because there is no end to the number of people who want help with their FD kitties. And it makes me want to spend less and less time on other internet things. This is essentially THE reason that I've been scarce here, and in my own blogs.<br /><br />Would I feel that way if I were helping people in person? The lack of "down time" on the internet certainly ratchets up the demand for content. Does the internet somehow take more than it gives, <i>even though it appears to be an inexhaustible Source</i>? Will there be a backlash movement, like the Slow Food thing, or the anti-suburbia thing, or any other pendulum swing, where people are motivated to get their community in person instead of on the internet? (is there already such a thing? I think you might be on it already!)Hollyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10593117152792976823noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10166090.post-29663314629422072152009-06-08T19:45:53.674-07:002009-06-08T19:45:53.674-07:00one good thing came from the internet...
actually...one good thing came from the internet...<br /><br />actually two!clairevhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12761843590916439366noreply@blogger.com