I first "got online" in July of 1994, such a short time, yet in some ways light-years, ago. (To some, this would make me a "grand-daddy long legs" on the Web.) Much to my friends' (and my own) amazement, I was a web-surfer par excellence in no time flat. Now perhaps it takes a certain type of mind-set (perhaps you just have to be out of your mind), but I soon found myself staying up all night, almost every night, surfing the net, crawling the web, being a spider, a net-nerd, web-head, computer junkie...whatever you want to call it. I was addicted. Never mind that I might actually have to get up in the morning, or cook dinner, or eat. My poor lover -- computer widower at 40! I am extremely fortunate at this point in my life to have such an understanding partner, and to have the type of flexible schedule that gives me the time for all this. I am also fortunate to have close friends who share my enthusiasm for computing. And I feel we are all fortunate to be alive at a time when such a wonderful creature as the Internet exists.
When I log on, I have a sense of being immediately in touch with the world. The old "finger on the pulse" concept has never been so easily within reach of so many individuals around the globe. The planet has gotten smaller, but the universe bigger. Individual human beings are becoming empowered by the World Wide Web. We are becoming intricately interconnected. I feel empowered by my experience on the Internet.
Earlier I mentioned a "dynamic, living entity." That is how I see the WWW. It is made up of many systems, organs, and cells called network servers, websites, and web pages. It evolves. The gestalt of the web is evident. The whole is always greater than the sum of its parts. This entity is evolving. I am evolving within it. This is true empowerment.
Web publishing may currently be available only to the initiated, but it is becoming increasingly more accessible to the average computer user, and even, of course, to someone without a computer, through web developers, HTML authors-for-hire, or a friend with an Internet access account. Yet, many would consider much of the WWW or Usenet newsgroups a waste of bandwidth. I guess I am an optimist and I choose to believe there is room for everyone. If nothing else, the evidence of personal empowerment is definitely there, even among the cancerous cells. We have the opportunity and potential to heal this entity, flourish, prosper, create, reveal, uncover, and peel away barriers between individuals. By the year 2000, the number of websites will be astronomical. The gay and lesbian community can be a powerful force for affecting growth and goodwill on the Internet and the world at large. It all begins with individuals. Let us use our newfound personal power wisely.