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July 97 Column
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Talking On-Line
by Jana Barberio
I have never met Betsy in Virginia in person, but talking to her
on-line today was fun.
I was on CompuServe, in the Work At Home forum and I looked to
see who was there. There is a button you can click to find out who
else is poking around in the forum.
I noticed Betsy was at the top of a list of about six or seven
names, including my own. I clicked on the profile button, to find
out more about her. Very few on-line users take the time to write
a profile on themselves. I was pleased to see that among Betsy’s
interests were cross-stitch and antiques.
Since I am looking for a tiny ice-cream parlor table for my new
“old” house’s cramped kitchen, I invited her to chat with me. She
said she was from Richmond, Virginia after I told her I was living in Michigan.
I wrote that my parents live in Maryland.
Our fingers frantically danced across our well-worn keyboards,
writing, clicking enter and inserting our phrases--
Her: I have seen quite a few tables, wooden and glass-topped
with wrought iron.
Me: Great, for how much?
Her: $150 without chairs, $300 with.
Me: My friend says that cross-stitch relieves stress.
Her: It does!
Me: Do you work at home?
Her: Yes for about three years because of a disability.
What do you do?
Me: I am a writer/photographer.
Her: I envy you. My husband always wanted to be a writer.
Did you study music?
Me: No, psychology in Minnesota.
Her: I know a Jana Wells who majored in music. Get a pen,
I’m going to give you an address.
Me: Thank you for taking the time to chat!
Betsy gave me the CompuServe address for Susan, an antique dealer
in Pensecola, Florida. I gave her my address and e-mail. We
talked awhile longer and said good-bye.
One of the amazing things in cyberspace is talking with those
who have something in common with you. The air of excitement in the
midst of one of these on-line conversations is remarkable. Curious,
we ask to interrupt their on-line travels to gather information for our
own purposes.
The difference between sending messages to another person’s address
and communicating in “real” time is the trip to the “mailbox.” In
real time, you don’t check your mailbox, you simply invite another on-line
user to chat! And there you are, chatting in cyberspace, sipping
on your coffee, ice tea, diet coke or water with lemon.
(July)
_______________________________________
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Jana Barberio
is a freelance writer and a former paralegal. She and her husband, John
started the Holly Computer User Group in Holly, Michigan. She can
be reached by email at
jana@barberio.com
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