Online communities Pt2

I would like to elaborate further on my post about online communities. I am fascinated about this subject as I grew up in an area where even telephones were not the norm in households. I vividly remember my 15^th birthday which coincided with my parents finally getting a landline. I also only got my first mobile at the age of 25 and the Internet to me was something Pamela Anderson appeared in. In my youth I still learned shorthand, typewriting and manual bookkeeping. However, I do feel that I have moved with the times when necessary and now would call me computer literate.

Freaks and Geeks (no offence intended) worldwide have a chance for a new online image. Nerds suddenly became hot property as friends, as it was them who could configure your system, perform the latest soft- and hardware upgrades and copy those cool games for you.

“Online everyone is created equal”. The leftist-pinko view certainly has relevance today. As John Smith becomes “online_stud99” or Susie Miller “sexy1”, years and years of image making become moribund. Yes, it is possible to have an online instead of an offline identity. One of the major fears of the 1980’s was that “Big Brother” is constantly watching you and all your secrets are revealed. Now millions of people go the complete opposite way and make every aspect of their life public. Internet cameras in the rooms, online blogs reading like personal diaries including their latest attempt in online journalism or social critique. Podcasting and video conferencing will become more and more popular and those who wish can live the most public of lives. Maybe this word has been created before but I call this “Online whoring”. Pretending to be someone you are not.

I originally wanted to right about communities so I present to you two websites of which I am a regular visitor and contributor.

The Voluntary Human Extinction Movement

Blog of the Childfree community

Keep it foolish!
Christian