What The Net Did

Annie Mole writes www.london-underground.blogspot.com and wanted to remain anonymous. 

What is the internet’s main influence on your life?

It’s helped turn a boring Tube commute into something that thousands of people get involved with each day. It’s allowed me to me meet some amazing people and do some wonderful things.

Through writing online about the London Underground for the last ten years, I haven’t cracked up yet and am still surprised I’m doing it. But people have been wonderful with sending me stories, photographs and sometimes even recordings about their experience on the Tube.

I love the “inch wide, mile deep” focus that the internet allows people to put into their interests & passions.

Luckily I was able to turn writing my blog & ugly old static site into something that’s led to some great online jobs (not Tube related). I’ve co-written a book, appeared on TV and radio a number of times, met Stephen Fry and Ken Livingstone and travelled on the Orient Express, all as a result of the internet.

Has this influence been positive or negative?

Hugely positive. I’ve made some of my best friends through the internet.

I also love the way the internet has the power to mobilise people to make positive changes. With a group of over fifty people we were able to raise over £11,000 for the victims of the July 7^th Tube & bus attacks, through a sponsored Tube Challenge. Without online fundraising tools such as Justgiving (a company I was lucky to work for) this would have been impossible.

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

Many, but fortunately the positive have overridden the negative.

The negative aspects are that it’s very easy to lose a lot of time on the net as you get drawn from one thing to another. Spending too much time on it was probably one of the contributing factors to the breakdown of my marriage.

It’s also extremely easy for people to criticise and attack others online. Hiding behind the anonymity of the net, leads to people to write things or do things which they would never say or do in public. Fortunately over time you learn not give people like this the attention they’re looking for. However, occasionally it’s even possible to turn online critics into friends!

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

Could you lend me a million pounds?  

www.london-underground.blogspot.com

What The Next Did is a project by Laura Babb

www.laurababb.co.uk