Online Literacy

Since going online with my 300 baud acoustic modem 30 years ago, I looked forward to an online utopia with easy searching for information and shopping.  The advent of Google was a quantum leap forward that Yahoo missed back in the early days of the web.  Amazon Prime provides a wonderful price baseline, free 2-day shipping and a safe place for online transactions.

Social media does little for me, but I am aware there is such a thing that many people use via Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and so on.

Spent some time with a man 15 years my junior today that did not shop on Amazon, price check on Google or get books online from the greatest library system in the history of the world (King County Library System – KCLS).  He wanted to buy basic flip-flops to use as shower sandals when we went swimming and a book on edible native plants.  Flip-flops not a big seller in our Northwest winters.  Browsing Half-Price Books for foraging books got bupkis.  Amazon found flip-flops and foraging books faster than I could get in my car, much less drive to a local store.

Working with others gets me out of myself and helps me better appreciate what I do have.  I am grateful for my online literacy and the wonders of the digital world.

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