Let’s face it, when someone asks for your address and it includes an @ and a .com, (or .net) instead of 3 lines including a zip code, then it has happened. The internet is a new way of life. The internet is taking over!
Why wouldn’t it be taking over? If you write a letter, there’s no waiting period. If you write the right person, you may have a reply immediately, within the same day! Now real letters sent through the postal service may take longer, but there are some things that should never be sent via email or web.
Pictures and ‘thinking of you’ letters are okay. Email is great for keeping in touch or sharing photo-graphical moments (digitally).
Invitations should only be sent through ‘snail mail.’ Thank you letters are cheapened if they are not hand written and heart felt and then received in a real mailbox. Of course birthday cards should only be sent through the mail. (How are you going to stick money in an e-card?!)
After that, the world is at your fingertips! You can share anything, you can find anything, and you can do anything! Want to know what the word typically does with this freedom and accessibility?
Many men who are completely computer illiterate can excel at finding one thing; porn. My husband still hasn’t learned how to check his email, despite the fact that I set up outlook express for him and showed him all he has to do is click on that little logo that reads ‘E-mail. However, he has showed me videos of girls doing very strange things with power tools.
For the reason that I am not a pervert, I will not share any popular addresses to find those kinky, weird things online. If you really want to see 2 girls and a donkey… find it yourself.
Another popular thing with both men and women alike that can be done online is socializing. Even if this is your first time ever using the internet and you have no idea what you are doing or how to get there, you have still heard of MySpace.
Wether you socialize to date or you socialize to make friends, myspace.com is now the best place to do it. Fortunately, you don’t even need to linger on the site to communicate with others on Myspace.
Messengers allow you to chat (the online, typing version of a phone conversation) with others while you are doing other things at the same time. Myspace now has a messenger, but there are many that still use AIM (Aol Instant Messenger) YAHOO, and fewer still use MSN messenger. I predict within 3 years, Yahoo and AIM will no longer be the messenger that unites people. It will be Myspace Messenger.
Please, oh please, don’t let the computer be how you socialize. The real world still exists (for now) so consider that when you need to talk to someone!
After socializing, games are a very popular thing to use the internet for.
First there is online gambling. I will list some popular online poker sites where you can play for fun or play for real money. However, I will also suggest you never gamble real money online. Having the internet readily available can lead to major debt for gambling addicts.
Bugsy’s Club is my personal favorite. You can play freeroll games, or enter freeroll tournaments with prizes like BBP (Bugsy Bonus Points.) If you win enough BBP you can trade them in for real money. If you are a gambling addict, it is safe to try to win ‘free money’ this way, and leave your credit card locked safely in your purse or wallet.
Party Poker is another popular online poker site. They offer various tournaments, also including both free roll and real money. I will mention again, however, that my personal preference for online poker and the only one I would recommend would be Bugsy’s Club.
Not all online games require gambling. Fortunately, there are many sites that offer a variety of games that can be actually quite fun and addicting, and some games that can be just downright bizarre!
First, there are puzzle and word games that will keep you occupied for hours if you have nothing better to do.
POGO is a great place to find ‘twisted up’ card games like solitaire, puzzle games like poppit, and word games like tumble bees. Even with the free membership, you can keep yourself from losing interest by playing for jackpots, or tokens you win that can be used to buy tickets in a drawing for a cash prize.
Worldwinner is another site where you can find addicting word and puzzle games. Scrabble Cubes and Word Mojo are a few of the word games that I have wasted hours on.
And then, there are the strange games. Games like ‘shoot the celebrity’ can seem rather pointless and dumb… but after a few tries they are actually pretty entertaining.
An example of this type of game can be found here. You kill a stuffed bunny, and then have a timed 60 seconds to complete a number of tasks and bring it back to life. Sound silly? Try it!
NewGrounds is a site where you can find the oddest games, videos, and amateur cartoons that can be pretty funny at times. This site is for younger, somewhat ‘immature’ minds, and not for the easily offended.
ZooAss offers similar games, jokes, and drink recipes. The content on this site is very… unique.
Watching videos is another way to waste your time online. You can find just about anything on video, and the most popular place to look would be YouTube. From comedy to opinion to sports to dangerous stunts to family videos to goofy home-made videos… you can find it all here.
You can also browse the videos at Myspace or other ‘got it all’ sites like Yahoo and AOL.
Finally, the internet offers a world of information! You can look for advice, answers to questions, news, and seek opinions.
For example CafeMom is a great site if you are a mom, but it doesn’t stop at something that general! You can join groups on this site for stay at home moms, strange moms, step moms, moms who like to write, single moms, etc.
If you are looking for general information, Associated Content is probably the best place on the internet to find anything you need. From recipes to advice to news and so much more, Associated Content is the fastest growing media network on the web.
Aside from blogging, these are what the internet is most commonly used for. I hope these sites help you discover the potential of your computer!
