Estimates predict 100 million net users by 1998 and that estimate may be conservative. Individuals, clubs, groups and businesses can utilize and benefit from the web.
Individuals can find information on hobbies and interests as well as information on their particular vocation.
Gardeners have the advantage of having a wealth of information available at their fingertips through a huge number of newsgroups. Gardeners can also get specific information on varieties that do well in our South Texas area through the Texas A&M agricultural service. Master gardeners can find a section devoted entirely to them through Texas A&M as well.
The handyman will now plenty of resources on line, along with information on projects, plans and services. Your New House, Bob Vila, and Handyman Connection have all developed web pages and many sites have e-mail support for difficult problems.
The Texas A&M agricultural service provides updated information for area farmers. Information on management of grazing lands, developments in corn and Milo disease resistance, research on grasses and many more topics are covered in recent newsletters. Texas A&M provides an index that can be searched by those users looking for specific topics or solutions. Farming publications on-line include Progressive Farmer, InterGarden (organic farming), and the Forage Information System.
Among public and civic organizations, schools and libraries have been among the first to embrace this new and promising technology. Educators have found that the web is rich in resources. Students are able to link directly to organizations and scientists, as well as able to tap into huge libraries.
Student organizations can find information on meetings, competitions, rankings, fund raisers, scholarships, and publishing ideas. The Texas Agricultural Extension Service through Texas A&M provides a page for 4-H's that covers topics in both English and Spanish.
Libraries are able to "borrow" information and electronic media to make them available to library users. A small community library becomes a giant when connected.
Civic groups and volunteer organizations have been fast in developing web pages. The web gives groups such as the Lions Clubs International a forum in which local clubs can provide information concerning current projects, membership, organizational charts and scholarships. The national site provides the Lion's history, national awards, national campaigns and a national club calendar.
Volunteer organizations are not left out. New or used equipment, training and information on other volunteer organizations can be found on the web. In addition to individual sites, UT Austin provides a free directory of non-profit organizations in Texas.
Churches regardless of size are becoming a part of the web. A search under churches in Texas finds many in this area representing several different faiths. Here, sermon texts, a call to both new and old members, church bulletins and church calendars are available to everyone. Since fund raising and community participation are so important to the well being of any church, this information can be made available on a much larger scale than any other medium
Health providers will have the advantage of being able to transmit health bulletins. Local hospitals, county health agencies and other health providers find the ability to provide detailed information about health concerns. Guadalupe Valley Hospital maintains a well-written site complete with pictures, maps and links to other Seguin sites.
The web has become a place of thriving commerce. Find your favorite web page and generally you will see advertising. The advertising is normally the way most web publishers can afford to pay for the setup and maintenance of a web site. On-line customers can check availability of hard to find items and orders for delivery can be placed through the business's home page, quickly and easily on line. Pictures with descriptive text create attractive advertisement. Restaurants can display menus to attract new customers and telephone numbers for customers that wish to place orders in advance.
What does the web offer the community as a whole? The web offers one more avenue to provide communication within a community. Community calendars can be created and maintained on the web. Calendars could provide information on health clinics, school events, volunteer fire department breakfasts and suppers, water resources and pet clinics, among other events. A calendar can be updated daily if necessary to reflect changes and additions.
Seguin's own Seguin Internet Club maintains a well designed and well maintained web site. Articles that have appeared in the Internet Beat on a wide variety of Internet topics are available to browse, download or print. In addition, the web site provides tips for newbies (new users) and contacts with local experts who can provide help and support; it is the essence of community cooperation and learning.
Historical information and area information can be displayed and downloaded by interested individuals. What better gift can a community give its youth than the history of the city in which they live? Families that wish to give descendants the legacy of family history will find rich resources in the web to investigate their lineage.
The web is not without pitfalls and dangers. However, programmers have already addressed the concern of inappropriate web sites. Programs such as Surf Watch, Net Nanny, Cybersitter, InterGo, and Cyber Patrol can prevent viewing of inappropriate sites by children. Some of these programs can be downloaded in a trial version at no cost. The more recent releases of popular browsers flash messages on screen to let the user know if proprietary information is about to be transmitted. The best preventative is a well-informed parent who can recognize problems and discuss them intelligently with their children.
Although the web may be far from perfect, it is the future.
Our children will need to have the skills to grow up into productive
adults and the web is a powerful one. However, the belief that
the web is limited to the young, keeps some of the people who
could benefit the most from realizing its full potential. Whether
you are an individual seeking specific information or a business
looking to increase your sales or a club or group trying to establish
a common ground for your members, utilize the power of the web.
Susan Wehe
swehe@ix.netcom.com
http://www.netcom/~swehe/family.html
Susan Wehe is a member of the Seguin Internet Club and a regular
contributor to the Internet Beat column. This article and her
previous articles on teens and the Net, seniors and the Net,
search engines, and answers to questions by new users, can be
found in the Internet, in the web site of the Seguin Internet
Club.
Susan Wehe is a member of the Marion ISD Technology Taskforce,
and she extends an invitation to members of the Seguin Internet
Club and to everyone in the community, to attend a community
meeting called Technology Forum to take place Tuesday October
22 at Krueger Elementary Cafeteria at 7:00 pm.
To offer ideas or to contribute to the Internet Beat column, contact
column coordinator Gloria Rivera.