Incredible, & Beyond Incredible. The Internet is "Incredible Beyond Anything Imaginable 50 Years Ago

[Stuart G]

...I just looked up a Rick Nelson song: "It's Late"

...Within 5 minutes, I had all the information I could ever want about the song: "It's Late" and "Rick Nelson"
...1..When released
...2..What albums that song is in
...3. What albums that Rick Nelson did
...4. When did Rick Nelson die
...5. Other information about Rick Nelson
...6 References to where the information can be found, and was found
...7 Links to more information on Rick Nelson's songs
...8 etc, etc, etc.

........ Just to note, before the internet, I would have to have books about Rick Nelson right in the room, or be
......... willing to get up off my butt, and go to the library..(not just any library, but one with lots of information about
50s music and performers in the 50s.

..........YES, WITHIN FIVE MINUTES BY BEING ON THE INTERNET, AND USING ITS LINKS, i HAD ALL
THE INFORMATION THAT I COULD EVER NEED ON RICKY NELSON.

...........as has been said by other singers..."The Times They Are A Changing" ..by Bob Dylan

..........And, at this link, you can hear him sing the song:

[eppur_se_muova]

1. That's nothing, compared to what you would have gotten if you'd Googled "funny cat videos". :) nt

[Hoyt]

2. Think about all the hours we've spent researching in libraries. Now, it's more

efficient to do a search. And, one can easily copy/paste quotes and citations. Or just supply a link.

Definitely a new world.

[Stuart G]

6. Peter, Paul & Mary (my favorites) singing "The Times They Are Changin" (1966 performance)

[Ferrets are Cool]

3. As a follow up to your post...

it is my opinion that Youtube is the greatest invention of the last 50 years. And of course, it wouldn't be possible without the internet.
Back to my assertion about Youtube....it is a TIME MACHINE. We can go back into time and experience things we never could have before it was in existence. And we can do it within seconds.
If I want to watch a Grand Funk Railroad concert from the early 70's, I can find it with ease and enjoy a show that I never had the chance to see in real life.
Also, you can fix ANYTHING by watching a Youtube video. Have a broken lawn mower? No problem. There are 100's of people willing to share their intimate knowledge about how to fix your machine.
In addition, if you need to find out what is the very best audio receiver to listen to GFR with, there are countless individuals who will help you make up your mind.
Just my musings.

[snowybirdie]

4. In a past life

I was in research. Love to have a dollar for the hours spent in libraries going through books and files!

[d_r]

5. My teenagers

Have basically every album ever made by just saying "Alexa..." If I ha that in my dorm room in the 80s I would have been the God of all parties.

[Talitha]

7. Not to throw a wet rag on the wonderful internet, but...

it'd be great if all of it was trustworthy information.

Oh, the music stuff IS a plus but think of all the problems it's caused. I honestly can't decide if we'd be better off without it.

Remember that commercial on tv?
She says "He's a French model"
The knuckle-dragger says "Bonjour"

Gotta take the bad with the good, I guess.

[malthaussen]

8. For finding music and obscure old films, priceless.

I can't say how many songs I just remembered a phrase or two from, that I was able to re-discover by searching the lyrics on the 'Net and then listening to them on YouTube. A couple years ago, I wanted to find out about a TV show I remembered watching as a kid, which had a theme song I could only remember one or two lines from. Searched the lyric and found the song, then found out all about the show.

This applies to historical and literary research as well. There are incredible repositories of all sorts of obscure and not-so-obscure info to be found. For example: I had read maybe fifty years ago, in a book I can't remember, that in the US Army, Recon troops called Jeeps "Peeps." I never saw any reference to that again, until I searched the 'Net and was able to find a copy of an AAR written after the battle of Baraque de Fraiture by an armored cavalry platoon -- and sure enough, the author calls the vehicles "peeps." That sort of thing is just nuts to me.

However, the 'Net is also ephemeral. Sites come and go, so I've taken to trying to save any documents or information I find interesting, because one never knows when it will disappear into the ether.

-- Mal