We live in a technological age; the information super highway can take us anywhere we want to go. What did we all do before the World Wide Web? Everything is made so much easier now than pre-internet days.
You want to look up something then you go to the internet, you need to know the correct spelling for something......look on the internet. You want to check out the latest novel..... Check the internet. You want to watch that episode of Eastenders that you missed......it’ll be on the internet. You want to listen to a radio station in Australia........it’s on the internet; you want to download the latest films and music where do you go.......the internet.
You want to book a holiday, get on the internet. You want to research your destination.......it’s on the internet. You want to do your grocery shopping; it’s easy on the internet. You want to buy some gifts, try the internet. You want a map with written directions, it’s on the internet, you want to chat to friends, get on the internet, you want to waste hours and hours of your time......................get a Blog!
In the “olden days” as my children might say, all of the above was much more difficult. You couldn’t sit on your bum in your bedroom with a glass of wine. Oh no, you had to get your “arse” in gear and actually move out of your chair.
In the “olden days” as my children might say, all of the above was much more difficult. You couldn’t sit on your bum in your bedroom with a glass of wine. Oh no, you had to get your “arse” in gear and actually move out of your chair.
Do you remember having to go to the library or bookstore to get reference books when you needed to check something out? If you needed to spell something you had to go to the book case and get your dictionary. Missed your favourite programme, not to worry you videoed it didn’t you.......oops the wrong channel was recorded, that episode is now gone.
What about booking a holiday? You had to wait for ages in the travel agents and then you had to trust their advice as to what a place was like. Isn’t it funny how they can always reassure you as they went there last year?
Shopping was definitely something that involved you moving your butt. You had to drive to the store, trundle around with your trolley, queue at the till with everyone else etc.... gift shopping, that was terrible, you had to wander aimlessly around fighting your way through the manic hordes getting hotter and hotter and more fed up by the minute.
What about maps? If you were going on a long journey then you would probably be relying on your trusty AA book of road maps. That’s if you can find it as it is probably floating around on the floor somewhere, not to mention that it is almost certainly out of date. You could also rely on your "other halves" intuion; men always know where they are going don’t they?
Now of course you can just go to Multimap and print out a sneaky list of directions so that when your "superior other" has got you completely lost you can craftily guide him to the destination without him having to resort to asking somebody. (Of course I know there are some out there more technologically advanced than me and you have Sat Navs).
Prior to the internet the only way to chat to friends was via the telephone and they were fixed land lines, you couldn’t wander around with them like mobiles. You also had to rely on the person you were calling being in. Now you can chat away to anyone at any time and you might not even know them!
Then of course comes Blogging, that subject so close to our hearts and the saviour of our sanity for many of us. What did we do all day before we Blogged? You know I’m not sure that I can even remember. I have made and met lots of new friends via my Blog and it is great to learn about different cultures and how people live their lives. I get so many ideas from what I read. Yes the internet has opened up so many possibilities.
So, this is the theme today for my Tuesday Thirteen. Things to do on the internet!
1. Blog. What’s the best blogging site around? Multiply!!!! The less said about Yahoo the better!
2. Grocery shopping. My favourite site that I am using weekly at the moment is Tesco’s. It’s lovely to sit with a glass of wine and just click away with my mouse and then the nice delivery man brings it all the next day. I do have to make sure not to drink too much wine though as it could result in ordering 2 of everything.
3. Enter competitions. Years back entering competitions meant buying post cards and queuing at the post office for stamps. I still do that, but an awful lot of competitions can be now entered online which is free and really easy. I enter some every day and my favourite site is Loquax although I also visit my compers’ club site daily. I am still getting small wins. This week I won a Liz Earle Face cleansing kit.
4. Book holidays. Oh when, oh when, can I do this again? I need a holiday. I need sun. One of my favourite sites when booking holidays is Holidays Uncovered. You do have to take some of it with a pinch of salt as it is just other people’s opinions, but if there are 500 people all saying the same thing then it’s probably fact.
5. Find new recipes. You can get a recipe for anything on the internet. I love it and I have tried lots of new things recently. My favourite sites are Delia and BBC Good Food.
6. Plan routes. I LOVE Google Earth. You can plan out routes for walks which Coralie recently got me into. You can plan itineraries for holidays and fly all around the world, even into space and all without moving from your desk! Still got that glass of red wine in hand too.
7. Email friends. I still use Outlook Express and I check my emails usually several times a day. It’s a quick and easy way to stay in touch with everyone.
8. Share photos. I love taking snaps and have thousands and thousands of them since I went digital. I upload them all to Kodak, but most of them are all shared on my Blog which is where friends and family usually view them.
9. Research family history. This has to be one of the biggest revolutions anywhere. Tracing your family history used to be very time consuming, expensive and involved travel to London to view the archives and travel all around the country to the places where our ancestors lived. Of course once you get really into it those things are still a necessary part of it. You can’t beat actually visiting the real places. But the research, particularly for people just staring out, is so much easier now so many records are online. Cheaper too. You do have to verify the information you find and not just take it at face value as it will be transcribed and may be incorrect. I use lots and lots of different sites so I won’t give a favourite. If anyone is interested in starting out I can help you by giving you some great links.
10. Listen to radio. I listen mostly to Magic which tends to play a lot of easy listening stuff from years gone by. My kind of stuff.
11. Check out the news. As we don’t get a daily paper and I don’t watch much TV the internet is my source for news. I like the BBC site best but I do check out other sites if I am interested in a story.
12. Find information. I use lots of different sites depending on what I want to look up. I do likeWikipedia for most things. I use IMDB for film and TV information. I also check out a few women’s sites regularly just so I know what is current in the world of fashion, make up, child care, celebrity land, music etc. I like Handbag and All About You.
13. Get craft ideas. I am always being inspired to try out new craft ideas. I often first get inspiration from something I have seen on a friend’s Blog. Then I have to look into it to find out more and that generates new ideas. I just wish I had the time to have a go at all the things I want to. I recently saw some lovely little photo frames which hang from ribbons from a cut out word. They are made from wood and I want to have a go at that. Simon has brought home a machine thing which will cut out the words and has promised to show me how to do it. Hopefully we will find the time soon. The machine looks worryingly dangerous to my eyes but I’ll try.
I love my computer and the internet but don't misunderstand; I still love books and libraries. We don't always find everything on the Internet. I have reference books on my shelf and a tatty map on the floor of the car. I still go out to do my shopping, sometimes! I still watch TV and listen to music; I even have real life friends with whom I interact occasionally! I still have time to do all my jobs as well as Blog.....most of the time!
As Wendy said to me recently the only disadvantage is that before long we won’t have to leave our desks and our homes at all and that is not good. So to make sure I don’t vegetate here all day, when Coralie gets here this afternoon, we are going to take Evan out in his pram and have a little walk.
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