What The Net Did

What influence has the internet had on your life?

Five years ago I was making some fairly drastic quick-before-I’m-thirty life changes and feeling pretty flaky. Looking for a new flat online, I stumbled across a forum. It was packed with intelligent, funny, mischievous, creative voices and conversations.
Interacting with them kicked me up the arse when I needed it and gave me the confidence to pursue writing online. I’m glad to still be in touch with that group of people even though the forum was shut down years ago. Which was a massive shame; some of those threads were priceless. Thinking about them still makes me laugh. 

I was Stella back then. I was hiding behind my cat. 

Has this influence been positive or negative?

Positive. The internet has connected me with amazing people I may never have encountered offline. It was where I first shared my writing and realised it was worth reading thanks to valuable feedback and some wonderful collaborators. Now I’m building my ideal job online with Londonist, doing, writing and learning about all kinds of Londony things with a fantastic bunch of people. 

I love the internet for enabling the smallest fringe theatre production to promote itself alongside the mainstream blockbuster shows. Emerging talent can put its work across online and get noticed. Londonist draws on reams of creative talent every day. We are tipped off by our readers and friends as much as the professional PRs and it’s a pleasure to write about ace quirky, niche stuff that might not get a mention in mainstream press. 

For me, the most positive thing of all about the ‘net is how it enables real life things to happen. For example, the many awesome images in the Londonist Flickrpool inspired me to organise a photography exhibition to say thank you to the people who allow us to use their work on our site everyday - the author of this project included. The virtual world of Londonist translates brilliantly to real life with fun and friendly social events around all our activity. It’s about connecting people. On a personal level I’ve made friends, found work, had fun and fallen in love thanks to online things. Good old internet. 

If it has been positive, have there been any negative aspects?

Getting flamed for the first time rocks your confidence. But for every abusive idiot troll there’s a raft of intelligent, supportive people who’ll remind you whose opinions you should care about. 

If the internet was a person and you met them in a pub, what would you say to them?

Cheers! Let’s ROFL.

www.londonist.com

What The Net Did: a photography project by Laura Babb 

www.laurababb.co.uk