Technology - Incredibly Awesome

I read a friend's blog this morning and she was excited about the fact that while she's in class, she can keep up to date on Hilary Clinton's confirmation hearing because the NY Times is blogging it. And how next week, she'll be able to bring the Inauguration to her classroom because of technology.

It seems to be taking me a lot longer today to come alive - mostly because I feel like heck and I'd rather just crawl back into bed. But, alas, I have things to do and places to be, so even though it's slow-going, I'm moving.

But, as I sit with glazed eyes and snuffly nose, in front of my computer, I get really excited about the immense amount of information that I have access to every day. And I love social networking!

A few years ago, I logged on to Myspace so that I could connect with a cousin and my niece and nephews. I found that I had friends on there! I tried Xanga, but wow, was I a lot older than most of those kids and I did NOT want to know what some of my young high school friends were doing. I got on to Facebook and discovered even more friends. I even made a few friends because of Facebook. But, the wonderful thing is that I get to hear about their lives and their daily interactions with the world while sharing a piece of mine with whomever wants to keep up with me.

Then, there's Twitter. What a fun, fun concept. Critics poo-pooed the idea. Why would anyone want to watch status updates and how incredibly self-centered is it? Well, it's not ... really. I have a few celebrities on there that I follow. Because of Wil Wheaton, I was able to get my husband the coolest Christmas gift ever (Night Flight DVDs). I just began following LeVar Burton (you probably know him from Reading Rainbow or as Kunta Kinte, but I'll always know him as Geordi LaForge. I stay up on the latest doings of a great geek cartoonist, enjoy updates from ProdigalJon (one of the funniest Christian authors happening right now), and I get updates from NASA and my favorite geek online store!

These things aren't necessary to my existence, but offer a lot of fun and craziness in my day. Following celebrities? It makes them a lot more normal and begins to blur the line between celebrity and normal person. The online community has made it possible for more and more people to gain a bit of celebrity status for themselves, which will soon break down the mystique surrounding the whole thing.

In the early days of online activity, the cool stuff was reserved for the ubergeek. You had to really know what you were doing to be able to access social networks, chats and bulletin boards. Little by little, those walls came down so that everyone could play along. Video games were originally played only in arcades and by people whose parents could afford the consoles. Today, all of this has become a normal part of American life.

I am a geek. I love the new things that technology brings us. I have a great deal of fun playing with new toys and new possibilities. Technology? Incredibly awesome.