Monday Morning – Anything Good Online?

I have always been intrigued with the variety and unusual topics of websites and their ability to draw an audience.  The thing is, there are so many people around the world who are online that it's hard to comprehend the numbers.  When I purchased my first home computer and went online in 1997, there was only a fraction of the populace reading websites on the internet compared to now.  But even then specialty web pages were being put up and maintained by fans and followers of this and that.

The ability to find a pile of information about obscure subjects was something very new in our culture and the unlimited expanse of websites was impressive in itself.  You could just randomly type in a basic search, for instance, under 1974 Pontiac and presto! a page would jump up posted by a hobbiest who had scads of photos and detailed information about the '74 Pontiac.  And lo and behold, other people were interested in that model too and would add contributions to the site.  And I had no idea whatsoever how they put up a website in the first place. 

Another new phenomenon was the joke website.  There was a website that I used to check everyday that listed recommended websites of all descriptions including a Website-of-the-Day feature.  And that is where I first learned about Sandals and Socks.  Some character was posting nothing but candid photos of fashion-flaunting people, just about all of them men, who were walking around wearing open-toe sandals over socks.  And amazingly enough he was getting hundreds of contributions from people who had already learned of his website and sent in their photos (and this was before the digital camera became available for home consumption).  I didn't bookmark the site because after the first ten or twelve shots of these things I had enough for a year or so.  But just out of curiousity, I would check in about every two or three years to see how this fashion statement was coming.  And sure enough, a never-ending stream of dedicated photos were still being uploaded.

Yesterday I thought I would check again and it's still there, albeit apparently being run by someone else.  I can understand handing the responsibility over to somebody else after a few years of posting photos of nothing but sandals and socks.  It's time to get a life, as they say.  Anyway, if you want to briefly experience this cultural oddity, here is the website:  http://www.sandalandsoxer.co.uk/home.htm .  There is no telling how many of these quirky websites exist, but another one that has grabbed the attention of a few million followers is the People of Walmart website HERE.  Again relying on helpful contributors, this enduring site concentrates on candid photos taken inside Walmart stores usually focusing on bizarre wearing apparel or bizarre-looking people who are wearing it.

Now there's a new big hit on the digital block that just celebrated its first anniversary and was not even possible before then because it's based on new technology.  I'm referring to that great computer overseer known as Autocorrect.  The Big Brother inside the box who changes the spelling of your words, primarily in texting messages, in an attempt to be a sort of spell-correct feature that doesn't wait for you to accept the choice.  It just goes ahead and does it, leaving thousand of text-receivers cracking up every day over the faux paux's.  And naturally they are sending them in to:  Damn You, AutoCorrect ….. http://damnyouautocorrect.com/

As I mentioned earlier, the site is passing its first anniversary, so they are currently posting their 50 funniest autocorrections and to say the least, they are hilarious.  You can read them HERE, but don't do it right after you have eaten a meal because you will be laughing so hard that your stomach will be convulsing.  Ain't this internet stuff great?

Before we lose complete control, we had better get this equipment  checked out.  I'm going to start some more coffee before we meet back in the digital day room.

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