I've been thinking lately about the concept of living an online life without actually owning a computer. Is there really a digital divide if computers are freely accessable from libraries and local cafes? There are usually restrictions on these public computers, but how much do they really prevent someone from experiencing the virtual world of the internet?

Can you participate in the online community without actually ever owning a computer?

I think the answer is yes, and in this series of articles, I'm going to illustrate how.

Intro

Everyone knows that you can go to the local library, jump on a computer, surf around and search on Google. There's lots of information out there that is both useful, informative, and fun. But this is only one small part of the Internet. This is a passive use of an amazing communications tool. It is akin to using the telephone to listen and not talk. What makes the Internet so great is that we can add our own knowledge to the primordial ooze of pure knowledge. It is a truely democratic society where everyone's voice can be heard. What many of us want, is to become a part of this new medium.

The key to becoming an online citizen, however, is to have what is considered an "online presence". Much like the girlfriend putting stuffed animals around the apartment in order to stake out territory, you need to leave signs that you actually live in this online community and have your voice be heard. Through this series of articles, I hope to illustrate how that can be accomplished.

Ground Rules

First, let me lay down some ground rules that you will need to follow if using public access computers:

1. Never check the little boxes that say, "Remember my login". Since you're on a public computer, anyone who gets on this computer after you will be able to access all of your information. That is no good. To be extra careful, logout of all your sites and close the browser when you're done.
2. Don't download files to the computer and then leave them there. Later, I will show you how to handle files you want to keep, but downloading them to the computer and then leaving them there will allow the next person to come along and view them. Remember to delete any files you've downloaded when you're done with the computer.
3. Pick a good password and don't let people look over you're shoulder when you type it in. This sounds a little paranoid, but it happens sometimes. Also, a good password doesn't mean one that's hard to remember. This is a good password: 'best7grey'. It's good because it's non-guessable and easy to remember. So you don't have to write it down. Just don't use your dog's name, please.

The Keymaster

In order to get the full benefit of being online, you must have a single point of contact. You must have an email address so that people can talk to you and know how to contact you. If the Internet were a gated community, an email address would be your key to get in. It will be the key that gets you past merely 'looking' and into 'doing'.

There are a lot of free email services out there to choose from, but the winner by far is Gmail. The one problem with Gmail is, you can't sign up for it, you have to be "invited". With no friends on the internet, there is no way for you to be magically invited. This is unfair to our computerless brethren because that means you have to be "in" in order to get "in". Absolute snobbery.

There are quite a few brave souls on the internet that will give anyone an invite that wants one. All you have to do is send them your email address and they'll email you an invite. Of course that means you need to already have an email address. Which means you have to be "in" in order to get "in". It's really a vicious cycle.

If you look over to the side, you will see that I have posted a link right to a Gmail Invite. If you don't have an email address at all, feel free to use that invite to get one. Or you can get one from other email venders that don't require you to be "in", like Yahoo! Mail and HotMail, but I don't recommend it. I think the interface to Gmail is much easier to use and will give you fewer headaches.

BUT DON'T GO YET. You are about to embark on one of the most important decisions you will ever make concerning your online identity. No, not about whether you want to be a Paladin or a Wizard; you are about to choose your online name.

Email addresses have a strange way of following you around the internet and becoming your virtual name where ever you go. People online won't call you Jim or Sarah, they'll call you monkeyBa11 or TuberTop. Seriously, you don't want to be called TuberTop the rest of your life.

When you're asked to pick a username for a site, you will almost always use your email address. Friends will know you by your email address and your email address will show up everywhere you've been. I told you this was your key online and the reason is because it's used everywhere online.

When I first signed up for AOL way back in 1994, I tried a number of screen names before I was able to find one that wasn't already used (if you choose a name already in use on Gmail, you'll know what I mean). The name I eventually got stuck with: FirstClown. And it's followed me around like an Albatross ever since.

Choose carefully.

Next time, I'll talk about all the great things you can do with this new email address. If you have any questions or comments on this series, email me at lifeelectric @ firstclown.us, or leave a comment below.

P.S. If you still don't have an email address and wan't to tell me something about this post, you can fake the email address in the comment box below. I only make it required so that people remember to enter it if they want me to email them back.

Related posts:

1. Living the Life Electric Part 2: Using Email I am assuming in Part 2 that you have already...
2. Living the Life Electric Part 3: Keeping Track of Bookmarks In preparation for part 3 of Living the Life Electric,...
3. Living the Life Electric Part 4: Personal Blogging It's been a while since my last installment, but I'm...

Tags: Life Electric

This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 19th, 2005 at 5:34 pm by Joe and is filed under General, Technical. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.