Much as I love it, the internet used to worry me, I thought it may have the power to turn us all into recluses, shut up at home ‘surfing’, or blogging away to ourselves… But quite the opposite is occuring. Forums, blogosheres, yahoo groups – they are bringing people together in person, not just in cyberspace as I had once feared. For example, local motorcyclists are meeting other motorbike enthusiasts through forums, and organising weekly bike rides around Madrid; last week I heard a podcast with Clark Boyd, a BBC podcaster from the states who was interested in meeting podcast listeners whilst on a trip to Spain, and indeed we are set to meet up in a couple of weeks. How the hell did people ever meet other like-minded people in the past? Well, I suppose it justy took a little longer…
So, it’s no longer just lovers and conferencing bloggers that are getting together via the net – there’s a big shared interests thing taking off here and I think it’s going to be big. Thank God – I thought for a minute that the net, despite all its wonders, might become a hinderance to a large part of (social) life as we know it….
Notes from Spain by Ben Curtis 