Getting Started: The Basic Technology Behind the Web

I found the beginning of this chapter very true: most people think that the Internet will be simple. The computer’s doing most of the work for us, the searching, the browsing, finding the right webpage … but it is a little more difficult than many people would like to assume.

The truth about these “pages” is that they involve just as much human input as a papyrus or pamphlet, even if they can be reproduced virtually without limit or cost once created. Indeed, web pages probably require more shepherding than such physical manifestations of human expression. After a book page is printed or diary entry recorded, it is “fixed” (to use the U.S. Copyright Office’s favorite word) in a form that will likely survive for generations.

Many people would like to think that simply typing in what they are searching for in a search engine like Google would take them exactly where they need to go – which is why the “I’m feeling lucky!” button is included. I have taken history classes where we have had to spend a week or two just learning how to use a search engine properly – I was really quite shocked at how many people just could not get the hang of using them efficiently!

The portion about choosing your own website’s features and genres was also particularly useful. I have never really had my own website outside of my tumblr, so I never really have to get too technical about any of that stuff, but I do have to say that I started off with one tumblr page and have since added 5 more away from it because it became too much of a mishmash of everything that I find interesting (and that is A LOT of stuff) and I was losing followers because I was straying too far from what I had originally based it on. When websites, even personal ones, can just get too messy for your own enjoyment if you do not categorize what you post and possibly make separate pages within the site to file and index/archive them away from your main page’s mission. Some sites such as tumblr can be an awesome place for more casual bloggers/rebloggers such as myself, but if you want more notoriety and presence on the Internet, constructing a website or even hosting it on a site such as WordPress or onMason could be much more beneficial to your purposes.

I never really see myself as being a moneymaking blogger. I enjoy writing well enough, and the thought of being able to bank off of it is pretty alluring, but I think I will remain a casual blogger for the rest of my life.