Internetworkers: http://www.ibiblio.org/internetworkers/

["David R. Matusiak" <matusiak AT hotmail.com>]

"my parents are bad & I just invented sex."

thank you, Linda! i've been agonizing for years over what to call my first 
novel, but alas, you have made it rediculously easy for me. ;)

a minor point, but important nonetheless...
perhaps the only thing i have disagreed with Roger upon thusfar:
"I don't think retail or service work would be very enriching."

i would have to say that these types of "menial" and "marginal" and 
"mundane" positions can provide an individual with some of the most valuable 
*people*skills* they could ever need. this is a life enrichment because 
(apparently) no matter how far our society advances, there is still a 
surplus of complete assholes. and people need to know how to deal with these 
"limited interaction ability" folks.

i've had what i consider to be two lifetimes of this type of experience and 
altho i'm glad it is in the past, i do not think i would trade this 
valuable, enriching experience for all the izod lacoste three-button golf 
shirts in the world.

hmmmm... what has the internet career experience given us?

1. carpal tunnel syndrome
2. really bad eyesight
3. email checking addiction / general internet malaise addiction
4. attention deficit disorder / "continuous partial attention"
5. lack of interest in human interaction / various types of isolation
6. grandiose expectations for what the world owes you
7. immediate access to bomb making information
8. "i'm a knowledge worker, so that entitles me to be a pompous ass" 
disorder
9. stock option shrinkage providing direct link to increase in suicidal 
behavior
10. pagers / cell phones / things that make annoying beeps
11. too goddamn busy to even know what the hell is going on most of the time 
(other than the intricate details of your product development team).

i thought all this technology was sposda save us all kinds of time and 
create situations where we would have to work less and spend more time with 
our families, friends, and watching the simpsons...

instead, we have road rage, power shortages, mid-flight airline assault, 
PDAs with too short of battery life, and kids stuck in the K hole.

yeah, all this access and info is doing us a lot of good.

a few things that might be construed as positive:
1. multi-tasking abilities are improving
2. learn about whatever kinky thing interests you
3. apply other disciplines in your life and incorporate that into your work
4. learn to embrace the abuse of stimulants
5. you like to steal copyrighted material

however, i think my favorite "enrichment" from working with the internet is 
making the people who don't know what the hell they are talking about look 
like the complete fools that they are. this is the real clincher. over the 
course of the ages, too many folks have been able to fudge their way along 
in life without really knowing/doing anything. "bullshit artists" is a term 
you might be familiar with.

in this complex day and age of "does it friggin' work?" and "everythings a 
friggin' acronym," it becomes a humorous game to seperate the wheat from the 
chaff. have a conversation with some marketing droid about technology 
integration and they will fill your ears with so many buzzwords that you 
will surely want to drown yourself.

then ask them to make it work. or even more clearly explain what it is they 
are talking about. now they will be drowning.

this wasn't meant to be a sinister email; just an honest account of my 
answer to your inquiry. and please don't begin the long process of 
explaining to me how we "need" those types of spinsters. only one question 
matters anymore: "does it work?"

dave ;)
who has had enough of buzzword bullshit for the day...

From: "Austin, Roger" <rda AT rti.org>
To: "InterNetWorkers" <internetworkers AT franklin.oit.unc.edu>
Subject: [internetworkers] Re: does Internet work enrich the rest of your 
life?
Date: Thu, 10 May 2001 15:31:07 -0400

 What is "Internet work"? I would submit that their are few careers in
general which don't enrich your life to some degree. There are probably
many careers that burn you out so much that you don't have the time or
energy to enrich your life outside of work hours. (I really don't have
"outside of work hours" so I don't know what I am talking about here.)

 Farming might be a career that would be enriching. Perhaps an artist or
craftsperson? Writer or Poet? I don't think retail or service work would
be very enriching. Some people think that teaching is enriching though I
would find it painful. Doing research is enriching except in the
financial meaning of the term. Cooking might be enriching if you worked
at an exotic location. (Carrboro?) Working with your hands might be more
enriching than working with your brain, but other people might find that
reversed. Being a bartender might be enriching if you had a cool
clientele.

 It is funny how you can trace decisions you made in your earlier years
to definitive outcomes later in life. There are forks in the road which
define the outcome in later years, but it takes insight to know at the
time. You take a class; decline a project; invest in a company; learn a
new language; go to night school; make a decision; learn to play an
instrument; move to a new city; apply for a new job; etc. A decision to
take stock options with Microsoft in 1985 worked out very differently
than the choice of options with a dot-gone. Getting a higher degree at
night opens up opportunities that were never dreamed of before. Starting
a relationship or family opens up (or closes down) many opportunities.
 I got into a discussion about choices that are made in life when
discussing a younger relative (and their being oblivious to what was
happening as they made stupid choices.) Their choices would obviously
limit (or stunt) their future and this started a discussion on the forks
in the road during life. I look back on very small choices I made (good
and bad) sometimes. I can trace things I now take for granted on choices
that I made 20 years ago. Things like changing careers from chemistry to
computers; doing continuing education; getting involved in crafts;
involvement with certain people. Time to boogie...
 Roger (not getting riched, but enriched in RTP)

> Linda wrote:
> >
> >On this note, we were wondering what enrichment Internet work brings to 
the
> >rest of one's life. Are there other career moves that would be 
especially
> >enriched by being before or after an Internet stint?
> >
> >Linda

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