Internet Tips-4

Do you want to add your own (or someone else's) view or metaphor? If so, mail us here and - unless it's totally abusive or nonsensical - we'll add it to the list (with or without your name and/or affiliation, just as you wish).


"Formally speaking, the Internet is a technical medium... In terms of design or architecture, call it a house. The Net, by contrast, is a potential home for all of us. It includes both the formal Internet and other networks and computers linked in through proprietary systems..."
Esther Dyson (1998), Release 2.1, pp.13-14

"The internet is the world's biggest mutual society: it's in the process of being privatised, but the mutual element is still strong."
Victor Keegan, The Guardian (Online supplement), 13 May 99

"..the Net is not a single home. Rather, it's an environment where thousands of small homes and communities can form and define and design themselves"
Esther Dyson (1998), Release 2.1, p.14

"Lennon's point was that more people knew about the Beatles than about Jesus Christ, and given the number of non-Christian nations to which Beatlemania spread, that seems an incontestable point. Today's Internet has also expanded well beyond the geographical bounds of Christianity, and in that sense has also become 'more popular than Jesus Christ'. "
Neil Randall (1997), The Soul of the Internet, p.xxvii

"Why do they think of it .. as a monster that has grown beyond its creators' control? The answer is simple. They think of it in this way because that's exactly what the Internet is."
Neil Randall (1997), The Soul of the Internet, p.xxxviii

"The Internet is becoming the repository of all we have accomplished as a society. It is becoming a kind of disorganised Boswell of the human spirit."
Vinton Cerf, 'The Internet is for Everyone', On The Internet (ISOC publication), July/August 99, p.8

"The internet ... is a fundamentally Tory medium, promoting freedom, individual choice, and reducing the role of state bureaucracy to a minimum."
Ed Vaizey, Conservative communications spokesperson, The Guardian, 12 August 99

"To me, the Internet is...
the epitome of both good and evil. It is a fantastic creation with the ability to communicate & share ideas, with almost limitless possibilities to expand ones mind with the free exchange of ideas, information and imagination. It can also offer wisdom and help to those in need. It can, on the other hand, be a destroyer of incentive and a tool of isolation. It can be a peddler of the ideas which live in the darker regions of ones mind. It can be a flow of hatred and anger and the mask of lies and deception. In other words, it reflects the true nature of humanity in all it's diversity."
Darren Bottino, Pastor, Harvest Community Church Madera, California,

Internet Tips-3

Getting on the internet is the most important thing that you will ever do. I cannot overstate this point. Get on the internet - now. Your livelihood, your happiness and your future is at stake. Staying away from the internet is the social equivalent of committing suicide.

What is so great about the internet? Put simply, it's communication. The internet gives everyone on this planet the capability of communicating with anyone else (assuming they are on the internet also) at any time about anything that they want.

Perhaps the most basic human characteristic is communication. Humans are always chattering about something, whether it be written, spoken, drawn, painted, hand-signaled or coded in electronic waves. We have a basic, fundamental need to talk to someone, anyone. And when we're not talking, we want to be listening.

Just as important, the internet allows, uniquely in history, the ability to communicate virtually instantly and almost completely uncensored. Never before (and probably never again, if some people have their way) have you had the opportunity for open communications that you have now.

Take advantage of the internet like you've never taken advantage of anything before in your life. There are more opportunities here than you can imagine. There is money to be made, friends to be found, product to purchase and places to explore. Quite literally, there is something for everyone.

There is danger also, but if you are careful you will be fine. Load up your virus checking, install a firewall, watch out for scams, and protect your children and you should be fine.

So what are you waiting for? Get going, make a fortune and have fun. And email me with your success stories ... I'd love to know the cool things you've done on the web.

Sometimes people seem to make a choice between making their site pretty for search engines or making it useful for people. I am always fascinated when I hear this discussion. In fact, it is interesting to hear someone say "I'm removing my Webring because will get annoyed" or "I'm deleting my links page because god, uh, won't like it", or "search engines don't use meta tags, so I took them all out". These comments all ignore the basic datum about the internet. It's about PEOPLE! The internet is not about some silly, stupid little robots, or some faceless idiotic rules enforced by their creators. The internet is about communication.

Yes, search engines are a part of that communication, as it is one (and only ONE) want of getting people to your site. But there are an infinite number of other ways to get people to your site, from viral marketing to Webrings to link exchanges to contests to newsgroups to whatever else you can think of.

But if your site does not cater to PEOPLE, it will fail. Period.

Yes, it's a good idea to make sure your site is known to the engines and known well. But that is NOT the purpose of the site. The purpose of the site is to communicate. Pure and simple.

--Richard Lowe, Webmaster, Internet Tips And Secrets

Google's customers are advertisers; the searchers are the commodity that's being sold to the advertisers. The search engine is the bait used to get the commodity to view the advertisements. SEO types tend to reduce the value of the bait, which in turn lowers the value of the commodity, which in turn makes the advertisers (the customers) more likely to look elsewhere.

--Richard Lowe, Webmaster, Internet Tips And Secret

Internet Tips-2

A global network connecting millions of computers. More than 100 countries are linked into exchanges of data, news and opinions.
Unlike online services, which are centrally controlled, the Internet is decentralized by design. Each Internet computer, called a host, is independent. Its operators can choose which Internet services to use and which local services to make available to the global Internet community. Remarkably, this anarchy by design works exceedingly well.

There are a variety of ways to access the Internet. Most online services, such as America Online, offer access to some Internet services. It is also possible to gain access through a commercial Internet Service Provider (ISP).

The Internet is not synonymous with World Wide Web.