A Stoic Meditation on the Non-Existence of the Internet
techno-anthropology.blogspot.com
techno-anthropology.blogspot.com
Guitar magazines taught me that Harmonic Minor scales sounded exotic and dark.
People I knew in person helped me get jobs, like teachers.
I met people in classes, parties and through other friends.
And, I published my work in my journal, zines and the school newspaper.
He's right, the internet is fantastic and improved all of these activities - mostly. Life back then wasn't all bad, to be sure. I love the amazing ability to connect to people on the internet, and the vast amount of information at our fingertips. However, I do somewhat miss the slower pace of life 20 years ago.
Some of the specifics, though, of my case, would be impossible without the internet. I'm sure I'd have a job. But remotely writing textbooks for a Korean company probably wouldn't have happened. (How could it have! How would we have even found each other!) I would have never developed my friendship with my bff Anissa. A lot of the most important things in my life would not have been possible before the internet.
BUT - that's probably not true of everyone. I may be a weird case.
No doubt your example isn't isolated... this sort of global connection making seems to be becoming more common. I think it's going to be a really amazing force for cultural change in the next 20 years.