Stop the Web, I Want to Get Off

With the fast pace of current Web 2.0 applications, it is all getting to be a little daunting to even try to keep up with current technologies. As an instructional technolgist in higher education, I have a vested interest in keeping up with the latest and greatest in technology. But I do find myself at times screaming inside, "Stop the Web. I Want to Get Off." After recovering from my brief internal meltdown, I realize that I could no sooner stop using the Internet than I could stop drinking water. (Notice I said water, as one can survive a short amount of time without water).

The Internet is longer a passive "tool," like a phone book, that is pulled out occasionally when I need to gather information, but rather a dynamic outlet for my life. It is an extension of who I am, but how did that happen? I am old enough to remember when single computers were housed in large rooms and no one used such things except NASA and the government. I could never envision that in my lifetime I'd see computers the size of a breadbox, a book, a pocket book. Computers in a classroom,computers in my home, computers carried around in my purse.

Now in my daily life I find myself talking with friends and colleagues from all over the world, sharing ideas with others in my field of work, cooking using an online catalog of recipes, sharing pictures of my family online, creating instructional materials and sharing online, creating an online recipe book (wiki) for my future daughter-in-law, accessing and paying bills online, and finding out what is happening in all parts of the world.

I guess after a little more contemplation my best advise to myself is to relax. There is so much out there, but I'll never be able to use it all. But thanks to the new applicaitons out there, I can find a tool that I love, a tool that makes my life easier or gives me enjoyment, or a tool that reminds me of what is really important- connecting to other people and enjoying the life that I have been given.