It does some things well
I don’t know if Al Gore invented it or not but I love the internet. If you asked me to turn it off and go to the mountains for a few weeks I would survive. The internet allows a guy living in South Dakota to connect with people all over the world. It gives dreamers making killer iPhone stands the funding they need. It gives guys in Kentucky the ability to create their own network where they can spread ideas all over the globe. The internet is a place where you can meet new people, order stuff that will end up at your house the next day and read books for free that make your life better the minute you finish it.
Don’t make it everything
The internet is a lousy place to have coffee. It’s a lousy place to confront someone. It’s a lousy place to cry on a shoulder. It lacks something and it always will. The internet puts something between us. It is between us. The internet is a wonderful tool and it has profoundly changed the human experience for much of our planet. It doesn’t replace first dates, play dates, family reunions, conferences, coffee chats, having a drink at the bar, getting a quick lunch, taking your wife out and opening doors for her or tucking your kids into bed. It can sortof do all of those things. When you can be there (in person), be there. When you can shake someones hand, shake their hand. When you can tuck them in, tuck them in. Don’t put the internet between you and people. In person is always better for building deep relationships. The internet can do many things but that doesn’t mean it should do them.
It’s a tool
Face to face, handshakes, mannerisms, scents, nuances. The internet doesn’t do those things justice. I love it but it’s a road to a destination, not the destination.
