Comcast exec dialed into the Internet
For me, the Internet has replaced traditional hard-copy resources. I use Google as a general search engine; maps.google.com for directions; dictionary.reference.com for a dictionary or thesaurus; quoteland.com for a quote for the day; or Wikipedia.org just to satisfy my curiosity.
Kid stuff
As the parents of triplets who are 17, my wife and I use the Internet for a wide variety of reasons.
We are able to access each of the kids’ progress reports at http://powerschool.river sidesd.org/public.
This site allows us to see their grades, including individual homework assignments, quizzes, and test results. If we have questions, there is an e-mail link to their teachers. By reviewing the results with our kids, we can recognize what they are doing well and encourage them where necessary.
One of our sons is a member of Team St. Luke’s, a team of physically disabled athletes. He recently participated at the World Games in South Africa. Communications were difficult, but we were able to follow some of the results at http://www.wsw.org.uk/ world_junior_games%202007.htm.
The National Junior Disability Championships will be held in Spokane July 21-28. This is a great event for our community, and I have been monitoring the Web site, at www.njdc.net, to learn more about it.
News fix
While I still read The Spokesman-Review’s print edition, I often check www.spokesmanreview.com through the day for a refresher on a subject or when I need to get up to speed on something that happened in the past.
For national news, I’m pretty familiar with Comcast’s own news portal www.comcast.net/news as a way to sort through all of the world news. Once there, by clicking on “The Fan,” I can get up to speed on broadcast news segments. I try to watch technology stories since many of our customers watch the same network news and will ask us questions based on the programs.
Industry trends
One of the best things about working in the cable industry is that you get to work around television. One fun place to keep up with industry trends is Lost Remote at www.lostremote.com. The site has grown to include a lot of interesting new media updates.
Many times, I use the Web not just for information for myself, but to provide information to customers or others who ask about aspects of telecommunications. I’m the president this year of the Broadband Cable Association of Washington, and I use links from that site — www.broadbandwashington.org — to help provide information to people about our industry.
Working on this article has made me realize how much the Internet has become a part of our lives. The navigation tools have become much easier and broadband connections have allowed enhanced Web sites, including audio and video streams. I work in this industry and am amazed at how the Internet has evolved. I’m also very excited about where it’s going.