Twist and Turns

 Change is an inevitable concept in this world.   People will mature, plants will grow, and societies will advance.  Things get better over time and we replace the old with the new. It just happens that the world works this way.  The world is no different than the Internet. The technology and uses of the Internet advance daily.  Being only invented 50 years ago, the Internet is the most useful and widely used form of technology of the 21^st Century. It has taken quantum leaps since it first started. Those same leaps continue to this day.  Taking a second a truly think about the capabilities the Internet does now and what is could do is astonishing, yet scary.  It is only scary thinking about the endless possibilities the computer and Internet could do.  Who knows? Maybe one day the Internet will be capable of writing all your essays and do all your homework.  As the Internet advances, new ideas reveal themselves.  Ideas that benefit the Internets users and expands it’s resources.  This was the case 3 decades ago, when the first forms of electronic writing were introduced.  Electronic writing has assuredly progressed since it was invented, but it is still a relatively new concept.  There are still several ideas on how to improve electronic writing, lingering somewhere, waiting to be discovered.  I personally don’t have those ideas.  I don’t know the specific twists and turns online writing will take, but someone out there does.  What I do know is just as anything else in this world, electronic writing will progressively grow and improve just as it has done in the past.

 Electronic writing will grow in the sense of popularity and usage.  Face it; we are engulfed in a world of technology.  Electronic writing has embedded itself into our culture. How many of us post new blogs, write comments, or send an email daily? It is now part of our everyday routine.  For some, it is there career to perform these online tasks all day. It is a phenomenon that we can no longer live without, as must accept as times change.

 We have lived through sudden hype and blow up MySpace and Facebook.  MySpace and Facebook are social networks that enable users to have their own personal webpage. The usage and popularity of these sites are simply amazing.  MySpace and Facebook already have millions of members, and attract new members daily. To some people these sites are like nicotine, an unhealthy addiction.  Users check their profiles every 5 minutes for the latest social news. A mother talking about her children using these sites said, “Both sites are highly addictive. Many youths check their profiles constantly. They are rewarded by hearing from old friends, receiving a new message, checking out new photos, reading a blog or searching for new profiles”. (http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4176/is_20070923/ai_n20521236?tag=content;col1)  Why are these sites so addictive?  Well they posses just about every social need and teenager can need. They are the newest fad, and we all know have fads are. They contain several convenient functions and plenty of social resources, yet the sites are not yet satisfied.  It seems the sites progress weekly with more updates and options.  The sites open to reach out to few it doesn’t already have in its grasp and continue to keep active users interested.

 But beyond the realm of social networking many other forms of online writing are being used frequently. Blogging and wikis have also become daily habits of ours.  It seems like every celebrities or popular T.V. has a blog or wiki about them these days. At the rate were going, everyone and everything will have a blog and wiki about them. There will be limitless information out there.  I once heard the saying, “ The Internet has everything”, and one day it will happen.

 Overall theses sites and many others demonstrate the population of the World Wide Web and popularity of the Internet.  As for the future, I can only see these sites increasing user wise and improving and expanding their capabilities.  These sites are still relatively new, and there still new ideas still out there, it is just a matter of time before the next website takes off. The ideas to improve electronic writing, opens the door of new opportunities.

 Online writing is making way for new job opportunities. . “The World Wide Web has introduced journalists to new writing forms. Visiting faculty member Jonathan Dube shared these online writing tips with participants of Poynter's ‘Writing Online News’ seminar recently.” (http://www.poynter.org/column.asp?id=32&aid=41309)  There are numerous online writing jobs already available. It is a job that seems relaxing, but can entail plenty of stress. The author is the heart and soul of the website. The content on the website determines the survival of the website. When it comes down to it, the more traffic and success a website has, the more profits it will gain. Websites and online articles are huge profits for attracting new potential customers for companies.  Companies are competing with other sites for traffic and it takes good online writing to keep the appeal of the reader. Online writing is very crucial to the business world.  Because it is so important, it opens up well paying jobs for writers. There are several types of different online writing jobs.  There are jobs as simple as posting blogs, fixing wikis, or even posting comments.  There are also difficult jobs as controlling the content and monitor users for an entire website.

 Online writing opens the door for stardom and riches.  The Internet in general has already produced several Internet stars and millionaires.  For online writing, the Internet gives an author the opportunity to potentially have millions of people view his work.  It is an opportunity to gain notoriety. A magazine or publisher can stumble upon your work, and end up offering you a job.  Writing is one way to gain publicity and fame, but it is those other creative ideas that bring in the dough.  Look at the creator of MySpace of instance, Tom. Tom is an average man who had a simple, yet brilliant idea.  It would be an understatement to call YouTube and Google genius ideas as well. Like stated several times before, electronic writing is still young.  There are still millions of concepts to make a great website out there. 

 As human beings, we persistently seek ways to do things more efficiently and effectively.  It is just part of who we are. There are now vacuums that clean and move by themselves, cars that parallel park by themselves, and we purchase items and groceries from our office chairs at home. Online text is only suitable for our generation. Although online information might not always be right, it excludes the hassle of driving to the library to search the entire library for one book. Researching using print and scanning book pages will be a thing of the past. All the information that will ever be needed will be found on the Internet. Online text will simply replace all printed text. Online text saves tons of space and is much more resourceful to the environment. Students will no longer need to remember to bring their books to class. A new product is already starting to be produced to enhance online reading.  It’s called an E-book. An E-book allows a reader to take text anywhere they go.  The E-book is a digital media device that downloads online books into its portable body. Lastly, it can store thousands of books and other online text while taking up less space.  With new gadgets such as the e-book, will attract lots of attention and popularity.  Many die hard readers would love to get their hands on one of those.

 I once had an English professor who said, “Just like there is a way to write in print, there is a way to write online.”(John Fox)  This was perfectly true, just like any other form of writing such as poetry or novel; online writing has its own style and format.  It is a resourceful skill to possess that will soon be a requirement. Just like print writing, the basis of electronic writing will be taught in the lower levels of schooling.  Online writing plays a huge role in college and the workforce.  When applying for a job or sending out a business letter, proper online writing will leave a strong impression.  It is obviously important to learn, but why are we not teaching the subject matter more widely throughout schools.   Overall online writing must be taught in lower and upper division schooling, because it a vital ability for the future.

 As beneficial as online text and networking it, there are still security issues and latent dangers when using the Internet. Online anyone can choose their own identity. For example, a 60–year- old man can pose as an innocent teenage girl. This has been a serious problem in the past.  Child predators can enter homes and into children’s rooms undetected.  They prey on and seduce young children. Catching online predators is not an easy task, especially when time is always counting down.  The Internet gives these cowards limitless resources and victims from the safety of their own home. Most typically use social networks as their source of victim, but they are not limited to them. Online chat rooms, online gaming, and email all have the same threat of criminals.

 To stop them, taskforces and programs have been set up to protect and inform kids about the potential threats of using Internet.  Taskforces operate by posing as innocent children online, and “fish” for predators.  As seen on the NBC T.V. show, To Catch a Predator, taskforces, disguised as young teens, asks the perpetrator to meet them at a home, and when they arrive, they are welcomed by police officers waiting there to arrest them. These are just a few steps taken to provide safety for children when surfing the web. Most of the major and popular sites have gone to great lengths to protect its users and improve their security.  It’s a shame that when something is made to help the world, someone can turn it around use it for his or her own selfish evil needs.

 Other potential threats of electronic writing include flaming and spamming. “Flaming is the hostile and insulting interaction between Internet users.” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flame_war) The term “flame” has come to refer to personal attacks sent to lists, newsgroups, or individuals. Flaming occurs in posts, blogs, emails, and bulletins. Someone she flames is not trying to give constructive criticism, but intentionally trying to persuade others and ruin the credibility of others.  Another action frowned upon by the Internet community is spamming. “Spam is the abuse of electronic messaging systems to indiscriminately send unsolicited bulk messages.” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spamming) The most recognizable form of spam is spam email, but spamming occurs all over the Internet.  The term “spamming” also refers to repeatedly post the same text over and over.  It is most widely used as a marketing device, trying to attract users to visit their website or to buy a product. 

 Computer Administrators and online police, as stated earlier, have recognized these threats and have set a foundation into preventing such behaviors. But there is still a daily occurrence of these crimes.  Online writing and social networking will be much safer in the future.  As the Internet grows there will be a greater need to monitor and protect Internet users.  Internet users are essentially clients and if websites lose traffic, congruently they lose money. Social networks will have a security that will make it very difficult for predators to view children profiles, thus making it harder for them to communicate with children.  It is virtually impossible to make the Internet completely safe.  Criminals will do whatever it takes to get what they want. As the old saying goes “Knowledge is power,” and we should educate all Internet users of the possible threats when surfing the web. In the old days people took the gamble of stealing from Casinos in Vegas, but would you try that today? It is the same concept, as technology advances and popularity grows, larger actions will be made into preventing crime.

 Once again, I don’t have the brilliant ideas on how to make the Internet better, but I know someone does.   It is only a matter of time till they realize it.  Still there is no doubt in my mind that online writing as a whole will grow, with more sites, users, capabilities, and resources. It is inevitable. It has shown to be very accepted and embraced by today’s society. Online text is the next step toward the future of writing and online interaction.