The wild world of the Internet

When was the last time you experienced a mind trip? I am not talking about an alcohol or drug-induced trip, rather when a thought or an idea or an experience expanded the horizons of your mind, made you see the world differently or even generated an immense feeling of joy and contentment. I last had that kind of a trip when I went to the ‘Bring Your Own Film Festival’ in Puri. But lately I’ve been getting my kicks from the virtual world of the internet.
The net is an amazing place to get lost in. You can wander down virtual lanes and by lanes for hours. As the famous New Yorker cartoon once said, on the net no one knows you’re a dog. There is something for everyone. Travel, sports, personal journals, videos and more.
The other day I discovered the Lonely Planet Thorn Tree forum where people can ‘bluelist’ their travel experiences, basically give gyan about their favourite travel destination for the benefit of others. I logged on and enthusiastically wrote about the best trips I’ve done. It’s the next best thing to traveling and its addictive. When I read about ‘sammy’ describing his amazing camel ride in the deserts of Namibia or ‘Amy’ talking about how much fun she had crushing grapes underfoot during the harvesting season in a little village in Greece it acts as a proxy for my latent ambitions to see the world. If I can’t go there myself I can at least relive the experience through the words of others. Of course, its no substitute for the real thing and one day I hope to travel around the world. Till then I will have to satisfy my wanderlust online.
The other thing that has caught my imagination is blogs. Some are silly, some frivolous and some funny. The media blogs are hilarious: mediamamu, war for news and media malice yank the pants off hacks who take themselves too seriously. The best part is that you can be part of the blog by leaving your comment, anonymously if you choose. Then there are the political blogs. These allow dissent to be articulated in a manner which is unthinkable in the mainstream media. The internet has opened up a platform for anyone to post their 10 paise’s worth. In a sense it has democratized publishing. Call it the flat virtual world (thanks Thomas).
And apart from these the regular sites that I visit, salon, slate, countercurrents, caferati, arthedains.