It’s no secret that I love the internet. If forced to, I could keep myself entertained for weeks, maybe even months, just poking around and seeing everything that is out there. (Un)fortunately I have friends that keep this from becoming a reality.

What is it that I love about the internet? Well first there is the information. I’m pretty nerdy when it comes to learning outside of the school environment about the things I want to learn. I think there is something out there for everyone – every single subject you can imagine from academic to silly to somewhere in between. From text to videos to audio.

What else do I love? The internet is a playground for mischief! Can’t keep a straight face when making your crank calls? No problem, try your luck on the internet. My favorite is the 7 legged spider email correspondence. Even if you don’t participate, you can check out all the different ways people are creating a disruption on the web. Obama’s internet IDs idea better not bring this to an end.

Are you creative? How would you like to create money out of thin air? There are numerous examples of people doing one simple, creative thing on the internet and making boatloads of money off of it. My favorite example is the Million Dollar Homepage – a 21 year old decided to pay for his college (and a whole lot more) by selling 1 million pixels of advertising at a dollar a pixel. It peaked at the 127th most popular website on the internet and in half a year brought in a million dollars for a pittance of effort. Check out the Wikipedia page and FAQ for some more background.

Your brilliant idea might not be too far away. Clay Shirky’s book Cognitive Surplus is chalk full of interesting ways that the internet is changing the world both socially and economically. Clay is the go to guy for anything internet related – his essays are oozing with ideas and opportunities on the web.

I must conclude that the internet is a playground. But it is also the classroom. It is also the teacher’s lounge, bulletin board, club meeting space, and gymnasium. And it is absolutely a work environment. If I had to sum it up, I’d call it a social experiment – here is this brand new way of communication continuously being reinvented. Really it’s just about anything you want it to be.
 

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The “somewhere in between” link above is highly recommended. In fact, check out all the Drunk History videos. And looking for a way to contribute to Wikipedia? Believe it or not, there isn’t a Wikipedia page for Drunk History yet!
 

Photo: Vincent Lock