UBC Day 23 - The Early Days of the Internet





Remember that sound of the dialup as it connected on the phone line? I always liked the dumb dee dumb part at the end followed by a sound like someone whispering Oyvay. Ah, the nostalgia. Sigh.

Dial up was so slow and cumbersome. It tied up the phone line and things loaded so slowly. Email addresses consisted of long numbers and letters that no one could ever remember.

If you wanted to download anything with photos or graphics, it took forever and sometimes it didn’t work at all.

Even so, I remember thinking how magical it was to have the world at my fingertips. As a person who grew up in the precomputer days of the 1960s and 70s, I still find it magical!

Many times, when my older son was small, he would sit in his baby chair rocking back and forth. He would start to whine, growing more and more impatient as he waited for me to get off the Internet.

There was no Facebook, Twitter, or Pinterest back then. No such thing as blogging, chats and webinars either. I remember joining forums and listserve groups for things I was interested in like writing. 

The best part I’ve found about the Internet is making friends with people around the world. How do I know these online friends are real my family asks? I’ve been lucky enough to meet some in person and they’re very real and just as great as they are online. I hope I get to meet more of them in future.


Meeting my Mirabile Visu writer friend, Caz in Devon, UK, 2009
Before Facebook, I was very keen about a writing forum called Mirabile Visu that no longer exists. 
I met so many great writer friends there. 

Meeting my artist friend, Joyce at her studio in Inkerman 
not far from me with my pal, Wendy. 
I met Wendy in the early 2000s at a writing forum, 
I forget which one.

With my Mirabile Visu writer friend, Wendy from Saskatchewan when she was visiting in Ontario for her son's wedding in 2009.

Here I am in Chartottetown, PEI on a trip in 2011 where I got to meet the lovely Denise Bruce and her adorable daughters.

Last year I went with Wendy to NYC and N.J. 
where we met our FB friends,
Lori, Perla, Mary Anne, Rosemary and Roselle.

We also met Mary Lou from Connecticut in NYC.

This past March I met Marie Andrée in Montreal.

The Internet has definitely changed my life for the better except that I still spend too much time on it, even with high speed. I need to make sure to get off the computer and interact with the real world. Time passes so quickly without me realizing it and the family is still waiting for me to get off the Internet!

Comments

  1. Isn't it the beauty of Internet? It can keep one hooked for hours! Just for one day today I didn't have net and I was upset! My mood cheered up when I finally got net pack on my cell :D

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. So true, Swathi. If my Internet goes down, I get really upset. Glad you got net pack on your cell.

      Delete
  2. Ahh, yes! I remember my young teenage sons virtually forcing me to get an e-mail account and then a website for my business -- I had NO interest whatsoever! Boy, that was a LOOOOONNNNGGGGG time ago! Now I'm online almost all day, every day.

    For that matter, I also remember when I was in 4th grade and the announcement was made at the public school I attended: Girls may wear pants (suits) to school, instead of just dresses!

    These little trips down memory lane remind me how drastically the world has changed in my lifetime. AMAZING!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. What a fun memory about girls being able to wear pants. Yes, the world really has changed so much in our lifetimes, hasn't it? It's incredible. Some changes like the Internet are good changes. Thanks for stopping by, Linda.

      Delete
  3. grrr… just tried to comment.. hope this comes thru… I said… I love it and I have made some wonderful friends…. and you are one of them…

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You are one of my wonderful friends, too, ChoccieZ! I am so grateful I got to meet you in person and stay with you last year.

      Delete
  4. So nice to see this post. These days all I read is how unsafe the internet is. Just like you, I have made some amazing writer friends on the internet whom i have met and interact with till today.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I know bad things happen as a result of the Internet but I've been lucky to only have positive experiences so far. Hope it continues. Thanks, Christina!

      Delete
  5. Thanks for sharing your memories - especially the friends you have met. The internet has certainly changed our lives....FOREVER

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. So true, Carol. Don't know what I did before. I'm sure I got more housework done. Heheh! Then again, maybe not! ;)

      Delete
  6. Yay for the internet. It has helped me reconnect with old friends and make new ones. Don't know what I'd do without it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, how did we ever manage before, eh, Suzy? Life has changed so much and I rely on the Internet. Maybe I rely on it too much.

      Delete
  7. How great that you've met so many of your internet friends, Cat! I've met three so far, but would like to meet more and 3 are in New York City, so that's a plan. ☺ I enjoyed your description about the early days on the internet. This is an experience I missed out on, because computers only came into my life 6 years ago. Can't imagine how to get along without it, now!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hope we get to meet sometime, Debbie. It's such fun meeting online friends. Hope you get to NYC to see your friends. Gee, only 6 years you've been online. You are so good at this stuff. I thought you'd be doing it for years.

      Delete
  8. Before internet I had penpals, I still have never met them. I too connected with my school friends and even met a few. It's so good to see your pictures... wish I could meet my blogger friends too :D

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I used to love penpals, too, Rajlakshmi! I still enjoy sending cards and letters to people that I do by hand. I hope you get to meet some of your blogger friends in future.

      Delete
  9. This is so nostalgic. I hope I too get to meet my blogger friends some day.
    Great post.

    ReplyDelete
  10. It is amazing isn't it, TOTT? I still find it all so magical.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

B is for Beauty of the Birds #AtoZChallenge

#MicroblogMonday - Small Actions Do Make a Difference