Web remains new frontier, for now
Growing up in Eastern Montana, my grandmother watched the horse and buggy gradually give way to endless streams of cars flowing over ribbons of concrete highway. What she saw as fundamental change, we took for granted.
Working from home, I wonder if the Internet will ever transform our culture like the automobile did in Grandma’s day. The Internet allows me to confer with my business law clients, hold virtual conferences, and exchange documents across vast distances, all without a daily commute to the office.
I am fascinated by the Web. I visit many sites each day for many different reasons. The Web is like the ocean, filled with information as deep as you want to go. Or as shallow.
Politics
I’m old-fashioned enough to want a newspaper in my hands each morning. I read The Spokesman-Review daily and check the online New York Times for more depth on national politics. I enjoy HuffingtonPost.com for the diversity of columnists. When I hear about that darned liberal media, MediaMatters.org and the Center for Media and Democracy (PRwatch.org) let me see for myself which way the spin is really spinning.
The Spokane River
You might say I am passionate about the Spokane River. As the executive director of Friends of the Falls, I spend my free time advocating for the Spokane Whitewater Park. I often visit www.wwparks.com, the site of our design consultant. I am inspired by the Greenway Foundation’s work ( www.greenwayfoundation.org) and the thought that Spokane could host an event like the Teva Mountain Games ( www.tevamountaingames.com).
To learn about the big issues facing the Spokane River, try: www.avistautilities.com/ resources/relicensing/Spokane and www.ecy.wa.gov/geographic/ spokane/spokane_river_basin.htm.
Good planning
Part of the fun of working for Friends of the Falls is learning about urban planning. Two great local sites about urban planning are http://metrospokane.typepad.com and www.studiocascade.com. Then there’s my favorite urban plan – the Great Spokane River Gorge Strategic Master Plan at our newly redesigned Web site, Friendsofthefalls.org.
Family history
If she were with us today, I think Grandmother would observe that for all its potential, the Web is mostly used to keep up with Britney and the latest video on YouTube. (Okay, here’s a good one: www.youtube.com/ watch?v=G0x-0ldBUYo.)
I believe Grandmother would see the transformative promise of the Internet – the power folks have to tell their stories and express opinions. My grandparents ran a theater in Forsyth, Mont., in the ‘30s and ‘40s. Thirty years ago, the kid who grew up across the street reopened the old theater. Grandmother would enjoy the current owner’s Web site: http://www.Roxytheatre.net/pages /history.htm.