We spend endless hours on the Internet. If you can honestly tell me you don’t, then I’d be shocked. You’re indeed one of the few. As for the rest of us, we love the World-Wide-Web. It presents us with endless possibilities. We can pass emails back and forth to friends and family. We can shop without the burden of parking spaces, crowds and retail costs. We can research information on our favorite subjects. Download all the newest tunes and even converse in local chat room communities. This concept has revolutionized the way we live, function on a day-to-day basis and communicate with one another. It’s extraordinary to say the least. Just imagine all the people waiting in cyberspace for you.

Okay, here’s a quick survey. Raise your hand high in the air if you’ve ever chatted on the web. Now wave around like you just don’t care. Uh, forget that second part. My point is we’re all curious. I doubt too many individuals with access to a PC or Mac failed to raise their hand. We all search for local chat room communities. There’s a small part of us that wants to know who’s lingering inside. I’ve certainly been there. And trust me when I tell you, a local chat room can be addictive.

I tested the waters with just the basic ones that came standard with AOL back in 2000. I thought it was great how many different rooms there were. I could easily hop from room to room in search of different and new folks to meet and chat with. Everyone identified themselves with their handle. It was commonly something like 24Msingle. This is cyber talk. Virtually anyone on the planet can decipher this stuff.

After a few weeks of conversing in random local chat room communities, I decided to give it up. Oh, who am I kidding? It was taking up too much of my time. But, if you’re a teenager, I could see why you would be addicted. It’s expected from our youth. It’s all about the local chat room, myspace.com and instant messaging. Try to avoid addiction. This is one statement regarding local chat room communities that you should take seriously. Just like video games, chat rooms can be seriously addictive. Have fun with them on occasion, but try not to get sucked into a daily routine.

With the busy schedules that most of us experience today, we are prone to missing out on events that were once of utmost importance. Family gatherings fall by the wayside, replaced by that important meeting. Graduations of extended families are sometimes difficult to attend, with the scheduling and expense of long distance travel. Worst of all, everyday stories of our loved ones are often never heard, sometimes due only to the cost of long distance calls.

We are living in the age of the Internet, where people can instantly exchange information. This is a time when we can a take a photo one minute and have it on the other side of the world in that same minute. Sharing through email can never fully show the pride and joy of our families and the range of media technology. There is no better way to proudly display ourselves and our families then through personal web sites. With personal web sites, you can display videos, audio files, pictures and journals. Announcements can be made by the click of a mouse and news heard by just hitting enter.

Personal web sites used for family and extended family use should have have the capabilities to retain all forms of media. It’s best if you have a high speed internet connection because this will cut your work and loading time in half. First off, you’ll want to map out the look and feel of your personal web site. Do you want sections for each family member such as “Penelope’s blog, photo album and videos” or do you want broader areas in which the whole family can contribute, like “ Smith family photo album, Smith family blog”?

For basic personal web sites, you should have a section devoted to a journal. Here, you can chronicle family events and milestones. You can talk about your child’s graduation, a new car, a new job, weddings, birthdays and urgent news. This online journal, also known as a blog, is open to your entire family. If you install a comment box, you can even have other visitor’s opinions, congratulations and comments posted alongside your blog entry. This blog can also contain photos of all those events that you cherish.

You might want an entire section devoted to photographs. A photo album section is the perfect addition to personal web sites. With it, your extended family will always feel as though they were there. Photos should always be categorized, such as “summer vacation 2006”, “Sue’s graduation” or “Sarah’s new car”

Video can also be part of personal web sites. With a simple camera phone, you can record and share every event that you previously could only wish the rest of your family could have seen. If done properly, you can accumulate enough videos to create a video diary. For a final word on personal web sites, why not add some audio? A little background music adds a nice touch.