Giving Back

I use the Internet for a lot, like most people my age.

• I blog
• I Facebook
• I read the news at Yahoo! and CNN
• We watch YouTube with Nicole
• I place orders online after researching deals at a variety of sites
• I get recipes at Meals.com
• I read parenting articles at BabyCenter.com
• etc. etc. etc.

Jim and I both feel like we take a lot from the Internet but don't really contribute back very much. Obviously no one probably cares about my specific input but I often don't feel like I'm doing my part in helping others electronically.

Jim started writing on Yahoo! answers - a forum where everyday people ask questions and everyday people who know the answers respond. Yahoo! in fact "rewards" the person with the best answer (which Jim has had) to help encourage you to keep responding.

I'm trying to write more online reviews of the products I buy. I read others reviews and take their feedback into consideration as I investigate products/services. I assume others do and I should help them if I have something useful to say.

Maybe some would politely argue that my blog serves as entertainment for others and that's a type of community contribution. Honestly though, this is more for my needs than yours (sorry) so I don't really count it as "service" to the greater online world.... Strangely I feel like others' blogs are a positive contribution as I do enjoy reading them, I'm glad that someone took the time to write, so I DO count their blogs as positive contribution.