Last week I wrote about instant messaging, text messaging and video chatting as ways to improve the benefits of using your Mac on the internet. You can build on these benefits by visiting and/or contributing to user-edited content sites.
These range from wiki sites, where you, as an expert, correct or improve upon encyclopaedic content, to internet forums, in which you ask and answer questions, to social networking sites, where you connect with your next soul mate or boss. Internet forums are the easiest to get involved with. There are active forums on every subject imaginable. Google your favourite topic and a forum will be revealed. Reading one will show you links to others.
My favourite example is
www.fredmiranda.com. This is a photography forum site with more than 137,000 registered members. At any given time, there are a couple of thousand people visiting the site. The forums are broken down into 24 sub-forums so if you have any photographic interest, there is something there for you.
The key to this site's success is the membership's collective talent and the members' willingness to help others. After reading a few threads you will eventually have a question or comment to make and will be welcomed into the club. You don't need to be a paying member to participate. If you are a paying member, you can upload your photos to show them off or have them critiqued. The only request is that you follow the rules posted at the beginning of each sub-forum.
The Mudcat Cafe (
www.mudcat.org) is a similar site for those interested in creating or exploring folk music. The next most popular internet services are the social networking sites. MySpace, Orkut and Friendster are of this ilk. They serve to connect you with like-minded individuals. There is a listing of popular sites at
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/list_of_social_networking_websites. If you are looking for friends who are passionate about ... well, anything, there is a social networking site to put you in touch. I have a friend who has millions of US$ and he was looking for a wife on the internet, but was afraid he would attract only gold diggers. He and his internet bride were a perfect match because she was wealthier than he was. They've just had their second child in four years so it seems to be working out.
The most useful type of site, for me, is the educational/entertaining anomaly sites. These are sites, on which you can post, that show photos or videos of unusual things or people. These open your eyes to what humans can accomplish. YouTube is an obvious example but lesser-known sites are often easier to navigate. Check out
thrillingwonder.blogspot.com to see what I mean. As you participate in these horizon-expanding Web activities, you will develop your own following of friends and peers and establish a reputation for who you are and what you know. And sooner or later you will discover that it is all about sharing, expanding horizons, truth and bargains.