I was in Italy a couple of weeks ago for work
Took a couple of hours out to pop to city near Milan where I'd spent a year at university and worked in student travel office in 1993/94. Popped into the office to see if my old boss was still there. Guy said very sadly, "She's no longer with us..." - which turned out to mean she'd retired. Phew. Had me going for a moment.

Anyway, I had a chat with him about the way things used to be there... we'd leaf through a 2,000 page airline timetable to find flights, fill out cards with the travel itinerary on (in pencil, so we could rub it out if there were schedule changes etc), phone to book and reconfirm flights with airlines, etc. Computers? Unheard of. He couldn't believe we'd managed to cope. It worked, though.

The following morning back in Milan I was live tweeting pics within moments of taking them to the work account, emailed some copy across to the office from the train for a time-sensitive article that needed to go up pronto, and had a report filed and published online on the event I was covering within minutes of it finishing. Even five years ago, you'd never have been able to do all that.

My own experience of starting off on teh internets? Same as many others here. Baby steps early on, then starting to get involved in chatrooms/mailing lists, meeting virtual friends who are now among my closest real life friends, and with whom I've shared life's landmarks - birthdays, weddings, wetting babies' heads, funerals, etc. Strange thing is we don't interact that much online any more - much rather pick up the phone...

It was also through some stuff I posted to a mailing list and the feedback I got from people who read it that I started to become more confident about writing. An invitation to write for a fanzine followed, I kept that going for a few years, and when I lost my job four years ago, that gave me the balls to strike out on my own. I now write for a living about something I love and my office this morning was a table in the sunshine outside the local cafe. It's been life-changing for me in lots of ways.

When I think about the changes that have taken place, the pace of it all has been astonishing. I have nieces and nephews who never knew a pre-online world, and who in years to come will be doing stuff with technology we can't even start to imagine.

But you know what? I feel privileged to have been part of the generation for which it went mainstream, the one that knew the 'before' and 'after.'
(Capo, Tue 27 Mar 2012, 23:25, 8 replies)

I like the sentiment at the end.
'clicks'
(Captain Placid 24/7 ball gags, brownie mix and clown porn, Wed 28 Mar 2012, 7:31, closed)

Gay.
But clicked.
( Je suis un vagabond is an unfunny, up your own arse middle class knob, Wed 28 Mar 2012, 8:24, closed)

This will probably win
its a nice post, but everything else this week has been tosh.. including my own contributions.
(Dan dan dan They tik urh jerbs!!!, Wed 28 Mar 2012, 12:09, closed)

^What tubgirl said^
Worst QOTW ever (I wasn't doing QOTW when it was Mix Tapes).
( Je suis un vagabond is an unfunny, up your own arse middle class knob, Wed 28 Mar 2012, 13:29, closed)

Mix tapes was worse.
I think all the material was used up by the 3rd or 4th post.

after that it was just people saying "last" alot.
(Dan dan dan They tik urh jerbs!!!, Thu 29 Mar 2012, 11:34, closed)

In the before time
in the long, long ago.

(click)
(TheManWithThePlan cussed your mum on, Wed 28 Mar 2012, 15:44, closed)

winner
that is all
(MadBouncyDog Barking at the moon since, Wed 28 Mar 2012, 18:07, closed)

needs moar funneh
or even some funneh
(The Magic Number is neither magic nor a number, Thu 29 Mar 2012, 8:12, closed)