In other media news that has nothing to do with slamming other peoples’ music, t’other day I was watching Newsworld in the afternoon and I guess it was a slow day because they broadcast two stories about That Wacky Internet.
The first was about how, and I quote, “one of the most dangerous places in the world for children to play is the internet.” No, not Lebanon, Sierra Leone or on the highway. The internet. Because of the predators, you see. Sexual predators are lying in wait for your children to slip the ‘net nanny and visit the wrong chat room.
I’m not discounting the seriousness of sexual predators on the internet (or anywhere else). I just get annoyed by topic-of-the-week fearmongering. There may well be a sexual predator behind every curtain on the internet. It sure seems like there’s a sexual predator behind every reporter these days, not to mention Oprah. But see, that sexual predator also has to go out sometime to get more chips so there is also a sexual predator at Wal-Mart, the gas station and in line behind you. Fundamental safety and good sense can be taught to children and it can be taught to apply to every situation – public, private, real life and internet. This is not newsworthy, I don’t think. Or perhaps it just shouldn’t be newsworthy.
The second news item was about Search Rage. According to someone who did a study, if people who are searching the internet for information don’t find what they’re looking for within 10 minutes, they become filled with rage. Some folks were interviewed at a library in Ottawa. They agreed that sometimes they got back way too many results when they searched for things. They further agreed that this was quite annoying and that it often angered them. The librarian interviewed offered a couple of helpful tips; 1. use specific terms in quotation marks, for example, “Italian Cooking” rather than just “Italian” or just “cooking.”
Yeah. I know.
and 2. just ask the librarian! that’s what she’s there for.
All of this to tell you that the most hilarious search string has appeared in my logs. Someone found this site by searching for where was the fucking kilt originated.
That specific enough for you, missy?
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