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Uses of internet in real life

there are real people to be found on the other end of the “intertubes.”Usage online and in fiction In an online setting, “real life” refers to life in the real world. It is generally used in reference to life or consensus reality, in contrast to an environment seen as fiction or fantasy, such as virtual reality, dreams, novels, or movies. Online, the acronym “IRL” stands for “in real life”, with the meaning “not on the Internet”.[1] In its use as a contrast of fictional worlds or fictional universes against the consensus reality of the reader, the term has a long history: ” Authors, as a rule, attempt to select and portray types rarely met with in their entirety, but these types are nevertheless more real than real life itself. ” —The Idiot by Fyodor Dostoyevsky[2] In its use for differentiating personal worlds created on the Internet from “offline” life, the term naturally has a much shorter history and a more unclear future. Sociologists engaged in the study of the Internet have theorized that someday a distinction between online and real-life worlds may seem “quaint”, noting that certain types of online activity, such as business transactions, have already made a full transition to complete legitimacy and “reality”.[3] “Real life” can be a controversial term, as it can serve as value judgement to describe “productive” activities, like work and the support of one’s family, in contrast to “unproductive” leisure activities. Indeed, outside of fictional worlds, the phrase is often used to contrast a more traditional way of living against a pejoratively depicted existence, such as academic life, in a manner similar to the term “real world”.[4] A person with experience in “real life” or the “real world” has experience beyond book learning. [edit]Related terminology The abbreviation “RL” stands for “real life”. For example, one can speak of “meeting in RL” someone whom one has met in a chat or on an Internet forum, or of an inability to use the Internet for a time due to “RL problems”. The phrase “in real life” is often similarly replaced with the acronym “IRL”. Some prefer the expression “face-to-face”, abbreviated “f2f”. Some Internet users use the idioms face time or meatspace, which contrasts with the term “cyberspace”.[5] [edit]Religious connotation “Real life” is also a synonym for the Christian understanding of eternal life—the outcome of being “born anew” or “born again” mentioned in the Bible (see John 3:7). In contemporary usage, it includes the notion of favorable “abundant” life (John 10:10), leading to its use in organisational names such as Real Life Church.[6] In this context, “real life” begins in this life by a personal decision to commit one’s life to Jesus’ rulership, overlaps this life until death, then continues beyond in the presence of a divine Creator. Because of this overlap, it is not spirit vs. flesh, as in ancient Greek philosophy, but an integration that elevates humanity beyond this life in substance and time (eternity).[peacock term] Christians believe Jesus inaugurated human eternal life by his resurrection (return to life), commemorated at Easter. [edit]Societal connotation “Real life” is also used to mean life after education or to mean adulthood or the world of adults as opposed to childhood or adolescence. “ROFLCon” is an Internet culture conference featuring Internet celebrities. About 800 of them gathered at MIT in Boston over the weekend for an Internet culture conference called ROFLCon. It was impossible to turn around without bumping into a meme, a meme-maker or a fan. Here were content providers and ceWebrities manifest in flesh and bone, giving new meaning to the term “live chat.” As the buzz of conversation escalated decibel levels just before Friday’s keynote address, a speaker approaching the podium caused a sudden hush. The mood was broken when someone shouted into the glaring silence, “This is what the Internet sounds like.” The laughter that followed set the tone for two days of panels marked by snarkiness, geek-love, and a level of audience participation worthy of “Web 2.0.” A certain amount of Net savvy was needed just to read the schedule. Topics included “Pwning for the Good of Mankind,” “Lolcats: I Can Has Case Study,” and “Incubating the Mind Virus: Meme Infrastructures.” First up was “You Can Get Paid for This?,” featuring the folks who gave us “Chuck Norris facts,” Marmaduke explained, the Million Dollar Homepage, the infamous “This Land” video mocking the 2004 presidential election, and video blog Rocket Boom. To a man — and as one audience member pointed out, most panelists were young, white males — they said their Internet fame was something of a fluke. And a few cited sheer boredom as their inspiration. Ian Spector, who some credit with resurrecting Chuck Norris’ career, said he started 4q, the “original” Chuck Norris fact generator, while “sitting home alone one Saturday night when all of my friends were out.” Don’t Miss The new fame: Internet celebrity Joe Mathlete, who meticulously deconstructs the Marmaduke comic, said he simply had nothing better to do at the office. ROFLCon organizer Diana Kimball speculated that much of what makes the Web “weird and whimsical” can be directly attributed to “procrastination,” as the people building sites, and surfing them, look to avoid what they really should be doing. Conference activities were punctuated by announcements to “check online” for details about evening concerts, live streams and special fan-base dinners. Kimball, who often stood at the microphone, said it felt odd talking about the Internet without being on the Internet. But even offline, conference attendees found ways to highlight their favorite Web-based in-jokes. The crowd outside one panel was “rickrolled” by a group of singers doing their best Rick Astley imitation. Watch more on “rickrolling.” All kidding aside, attendees were well aware that “The Internet is serious business,” as the saying goes. Ad sales and merchandise revenue were cited as the chief sources of income for many sites. Others are strictly a labor of love. David Lloyd, “DJ Pretzel” of OC Remix, said his site is a “dot org” rather than a “dot com” because, “We are definitely not for profit.” Later he asked his money-making co-presenters what he is doing wrong. Several panels focused on the elusive nature of commercial success online and the speakers tended to agree that it’s all about building community. In the months between its conception and execution, ROFLCon built its own community. For those not there “in real life”, there were constant “Twitters,” live blog updates and video streams of the events. As the conference came to a close, the hundreds who helped create what Kimball called “the Internet in person,” were buzzing about whether it would happen again next year. In the meantime, they’ve gone back to sitting at their computers, detached from each other by time and space, staring at inanimate screens and hoping.

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drizharnium@gmail.com, Bangalore India