On T'interweb

What's not to like about t'interweb? the Global Highway with a service station in every household, where you can stop and chat with, debate with, argue with, or just observe the nature and behaviour of strangers from every corner of the world, from every culture, class, creed or religion. An encyclopaedia with limitless volumes, never before has the Earth's secrets been so accessible to everyone, never before has the Earth's population been so close and so willing to communicate with each other and I don't mean Their leaders joining for political debate, I mean normal everyday folk from all walks of life, sitting in their favourite chair, drinking a coffee from their favourite mug and building friendship networks across the globe.
I know there are Bullies, Trolls, Parodies and alike out there but everyone has an armoury of EXIT, DELETE and BLOCK buttons and the most valuable weapon, Common Sense. I myself once wandered out into the Global Highway leaving my common sense at home curled up on the comfy chair away from the keyboard. I still carry the scars today, so...

LESSON 1: use your common sense at all times.

Once you've joined, tried, explored and danced through the minefield that is Social Media Sites like Facebook or Twitter and believe me there are hundreds of them, if you ask Wikipedia for a list of social networking sites the list is huge, massive, it seems never ending. Anyway once you've had a play in these childish, immature, superb sites and got used to them, made new friends, lost old friends, been blocked, been reported, been deleted, been followed then you're ready to join the grown-ups. Pick your subject, any subject such as ,.... Edwardian Politics, Deserted Railways in the former USSR or even Left Over Screws from IKEA Flat Pack Furniture and there will be a blog, forum or chatroom solely devoted to and debating your chosen subject. These are the civilised internet communities sharing a common interest and discussing it to death in pages and pages of toneless drivel, a gathering of multiple Roy Croppers ready to pick each other up on the slightest mistake with their shopping bag hung over one arm whilst single finger typing with the other, but if you need to know anything at all about anything at all, this is where to look. You can get a crash course in washing machine repairs, fairy cake baking or even learn how to lance your

  swollen haemorrhoids (so I've been told)...... but even in these civilised Cropper crèches, tempers can flare and virtual shopping bags can be swung, I have witnessed many a battle of violently typed facts and figures on these sites (in fact I think that I may have started a few), usually over a trivial factual error misrepresented or misconstrued.

LESSON 2: The internet has a boundless supply of experts in every subject imaginable... and most of them know NOWT!... keep your common sense close by at all times.

Personally, I love Social Media sites, they're a digital playground for your imagination, jam packed full of idiocy, political rantings, breaking news and completely diverse lunacy, a worldwide club of like minded madness in your own living room. I urge people to become part of it, to shout their opinions into the global conscience where it can be argued with, debated, blocked, liked, shared or maybe hash-tagged if you're lucky. The educated and sometimes misguided responses can strengthen your resolve or shake your beliefs to the core. The global community is so close now and we can so freely interact with one another that the powerful people of the world that once kept the masses in check with lies and propaganda are fearful of it. Everyone has a voice and can join together in protest, in petition, in a global cry against tyranny and injustice... and the voices are getting louder. We need to speak out more, not less, we need to shout so loudly that the Parliamentary puppets can do nothing but listen and take heed.
Here end'th the lesson

My favourite spot within the digital playground is the busiest and most frequented... the diverse lunacy section, where people post the ridiculous, the incredulous, the crazy and the most unimaginable mind boggling and intellectually retarded rubbish.... it's fantastic. this is what puts a smile on my face and gets me through the day. It confirms my belief that I'm not the only lunatic on the loose that the men in white coats have failed to locate and that I needn't look over my shoulder quite so often. The crowd that I try to blend into are also trying to blend in too.... We're all so different yet we're so much alike. Right, I must dash because a cute puppy has just entered on a skateboard wearing a superman outfit and spouting philosophy while juggling three goldfish.... I Love it.

 Surf the Net.. not my Train