It is definitely the sign of the times when everyone is rushing to find their place online.  When we see many businesses online that is one thing, but we are seeing more and more organizations make their way online.  A good example would be the church I attend.

Our church wanted to have an online outlet to communicate with the members of the church in an easy fashion that would not be a lot of money.  Also, they wanted to have an easy platform that would be used by most of the congregation (we have a lot of younger couples in our church), so they decided to go with MySpace.

They used one of the many religious MySpace layouts that you can find online.  Someone tweaked it a bit so that it had the picture of our church on there, but it looks great.  The response has been good too - it has made it very easy for us to all stay in touch.

Have you ever run across a website that you can find a lot of Internet buzz circulating about it?  I know I have.  Sure, some of them live up to the hype, but the others just don’t quite make the cut.  I mean what is good for one person might not meet the expectations of another.

If you are looking for the best of the sites online, you can take advantage of the many website ratings services online.  On these sites, people make bookmarks of their favorite websites and rate them.  If a site is genuinely good, it will be rated well, if it sucks, well…. it should be rated poorly.

In fact, using these rating sites is what I used to find some of the fun websites that I visit on a regular basis.  I figure if most people think they have found a good website, it should be worth checking out.

Anyone out there still own a fax machine?  Well I did until this past week.  You see, I think I bought the fax machine I had back in the 90s back when they were "cool".  It amazes me how much we used to depend on it to send things for our business, apply for loans, and communicate with the outside world.

But that all changed when the Internet became popular.  I used to apply for loans over the fax machine, but now they have payday loans no fax required.  Another good example is the debt consolidation program that I am involved in - I just send the monthly documents that I need to submit via email instead of my fax machine.

I have been thinking of getting one of those home refinance loans, and take some equity that has built up in my house out.  I no longer have to go down to the bank to do it, I can just go online and fill out an application form - that’s it.  It is a lot simpler than it used to be.

Now, that the fax machine is gone, I will have to find something to take its’ place, before my wife puts something there.  I don’t want any "girly" stuff in my office.

Sometimes, you have to wonder if you can get too much of a good thing.  For example, too much candy, and you don’t have much for teeth.  Sometimes too much of something can be overwhelming - like having to pick a name for your newborn child out of the millions of possible combinations.

For example, I came across a website that had 8000 web directory listings!  Well, I try to submit to a general directory or two each day, but at ten per day, it would take me 800 days just to submit to their current list - and chances are that when I was done, there would be even more to submit to.

Picking out a good links directory from a bad one is tough.  Thankfully, some of these sites have a rating system that lets you know a good one from a bad one.

If you are feeling overwhelmed like me about the number of directories, you can look at it two ways:  there are too many directories, or there are never enough.

I have had a MySpace account for a long time but I have never changed the theme.  It wasn’t until today that I decided that I needed to do something - I am so sick of the default theme, so I wanted something better.

Looking on the Internet, there were quite a few free MySpace Layout sites for something that would work for my site.  My criteria was not too specific, but I wanted something that I could look at and enjoy.  Also, I really didn’t want a Myspace layout that was hard to read - some of my friends just aren’t that good at reading (don’t tell them I said that :-)  ).

In the end I settled on a choice between two different scenic MySpace layouts: one of the ocean, and the other of the forest.  I really like both of them and it will be a hard decision.  Some of my friends are coming over tonight and I am going to get their opinions.  Whatever the result, I will be so happy to say goodbye to the default layout.

I was online the other day looking at some funny pictures when it dawned on me how entertaining the Internet is.  I realize that with the Internet there is a lot - and I mean a lot - of garbage, but I have found some of the funniest stuff out there.

Everyone gets their share of funny jokes emailed to them, but I sometimes like to just sit down for a bit and watch some funny videos.  I find it very relaxing and it takes the edge of a long, busy day.  Sometimes you wonder where people come up with this stuff, and why they are always carrying a camcorder with them.  That being said, I don’t want to discourage them - for I always need something funny to watch.

You know, I wonder what people did for fun before the Internet - I can’t remember because it seems like so long ago…

Today, I just wanted to talk about some of my uses for the Internet - it may be a little different for you, or it may give you some ideas of what would be useful for you.

I use the Internet everyday as a social tool.  I keep in touch with my friends, participate in discussions, and chat with friends.  I also spend this time checking and sending email to others too.

If I need something, I look online first.  Can’t remember a phone number?  Need to find a recipe for cabbage rolls?  These are some of the questions I can answer by taking a look online.  Sometimes to find the answer I use a search engine.  Sometimes, I have a specific site that I use to find the answers.  It really depends for me what I am looking for.

I keep track of my finances online as well.  Some examples would be my retirement portfolio, looking at the stocks I own, checking my bank balance and paying bills.  Also, when I am in the market for new financial products, or looking to see if what I have is the best I use the Internet too.  I can compare bank accounts from different institutions, find the best credit cards, and see the returns on many mutual funds side by side.  It is a great tool as I can make my decision from home without having to go out, or make an appointment (I am very busy).

Lastly, there is one other thing I tend to do online: look at car insurance.  I would like to think that I have cheap car insurance, but since there is such competition in this arena, usually I can get a better deal each year.  I like the fact that most insurance companies now display their competitor’s rates on their site, so that I can make my decision easily.   Sure, I still check out a few different sites to compare their numbers, but it certainly helps out my finances when I pay less and less each year.

So, that is about it for today.  I didn’t touch on some of the other common uses for the Internet such as shopping and auctions, but I figure most people would be familiar with that.  Later on, I may publish more information on other out of the ordinary tasks I use the Internet for, but that will be something for later.