Top 3 Internet Myths
3. Al Gore Invented the Internet
The ex-vice president of the U.S.A. is enshrined in popular culture. First he was Bill Clinton’s right man hand, during the Monica Lewinsky scandal. Then, he ran unsuccessfully during the 2000 presidential campaign. Perhaps one of the reasons why he lost to George Bush was that he inadvertently claimed that he invented the internet.
On March 9, 1999, CNN anchor Wolf Blitzer interviewed Al Gore as Gore was beginning his 2000 presidential campaign. Answering a question about what he would bring to the table, Gore replied:
"During my service in the United States Congress, I took the initiative in creating the Internet. I took the initiative in moving forward a whole range of initiatives that have proven to be important to our country's economic growth and environmental protection, improvements in our educational system."
Since that time he has won a Nobel Prize for his ongoing effort for trying to stop global warming all the while flying around the world in private jets. So maybe Al Gore didn’t really invent the internet but at least he is trying to make the world aware of the most dangerous threat to our survival, Man-Bear-Pig!
2. Everything You Read On the Internet Is True
The internet has revolutionized the world around us. According to Google, there are over a trillion websites on the internet. The content of most of these websites is not controlled, since anyone can create a website. When using the internet as a source of information approach with a cautious scepticism, because the information may be false. A good example of this is the website www.thedirty.com. Users post up pictures of others then go on to describe their scandalous ways. People’s reputations are ruined. While some deserve the harsh criticisms of their peers, others have been victims to vengeful friends. The internet sure has changed everything. Just 2 or 3 life times ago, everyone relied on farming and agriculture in order to survive. The internet has allowed individuals to make a living without either leaving their house. This leads us to our top internet myth.
1. The Internet will make you rich!
Mark Cuban, the outspoken owner of the Dallas Mavericks made his fortune by selling Yahoo his internet start-up, Broadcast.com for $5 billion. Cuban’s remarkable success is the exception, not the rule. There are many sites that will tell you that they have the secret to making “$25,000 per day.” The truth is that they do it by conning people who think they can cash into these secrets. The reality is that effective online marketing is a very tricky business. There thousands of start-ups that attempt to make a fortune and there will be few that do. It only takes one great idea to make someone rich but this is also combined with luck, timing and perhaps even expensive offline commercials.
