well, well...
So, I got to feeling a little nostalgic about an era of my life that is only vaguely memorable to me. I was listening to an audio cassette tape (remember those? wow, magnetic tapes!) of music someone sent me over 15 years ago. Actually, it may have been about 17 years ago, or so. Back when I was still in high school, and was new to online communities. This got me thinking about the people I chatted with, and how I had lost all traces of them over the years. Or did I....
Knowing as I know now that anything you do in the Internet leaves a record somewhere for someone that is probably in a google'able archive, I thought about what the person who made me the tape. I remember her screen name... one of her favorite bands... and fortunately, her full first and last name. Now, when I say screen name, I really mean the handle she was using in an EW-Too based "talker". If you don't know what I'm talking about... think chat rooms, back when most people were connecting through mainframes and AOL hadn't started yet. The very very beginnings of the Internet.
So, with this information, and about... an hour, more or less, I ended up with a mostly current email address, and even (pause for dramatic effect) her current address and home phone number. Without costing any money. And freely available on the internet if you know how to track the traces.
Fond memories, I wonder if she'll remember who I was... Of course, I only sent a brief email (with as much as I've changed, I know she's likely not the same person either) to say thank you for the tape.
And yes, I know that my lj contains easy tracking information if you know who I am already.
Knowing as I know now that anything you do in the Internet leaves a record somewhere for someone that is probably in a google'able archive, I thought about what the person who made me the tape. I remember her screen name... one of her favorite bands... and fortunately, her full first and last name. Now, when I say screen name, I really mean the handle she was using in an EW-Too based "talker". If you don't know what I'm talking about... think chat rooms, back when most people were connecting through mainframes and AOL hadn't started yet. The very very beginnings of the Internet.
So, with this information, and about... an hour, more or less, I ended up with a mostly current email address, and even (pause for dramatic effect) her current address and home phone number. Without costing any money. And freely available on the internet if you know how to track the traces.
Fond memories, I wonder if she'll remember who I was... Of course, I only sent a brief email (with as much as I've changed, I know she's likely not the same person either) to say thank you for the tape.
And yes, I know that my lj contains easy tracking information if you know who I am already.