One of the great things about the Internet is how it spurs creativity in a way that I don't think any medium of communication has before. Granted, CB radios were a great way for truckers to stay in touch with each other...
... even though the slang was kind of dumb, wasn't it? I don't really get it. Truckers would say stuff like there's a bear in the air to mean a cop in a helicopter. But for that slang to work to alert other truckers, every trucker had to know what it meant - -which meant the cops would know, too, which meant that there's no point speaking in code because the code was already broken, so why not just say "Hey, there's a cop in a helicopter?" ...
... then again, codes used by people almost always are dumb. Right now, in high school, all the students are arbitrarily divided into two or three groups, named "Oak" or "maple" or something. There's no system to dividing them -- they were just assigned a group and based on that group they got assigned a guidance counselor and lunch hour and so on. But the kids have no idea what group they're in, and there's no logical way to figure it out...
Anyway, CB radios and other forms of communication, like steamboat, didn't really spur creativity and connectivity the way the Internet does, a subject I got to thinking about when I came across Redhedd.com, a site devoted to redheads and the people who love them. I haven't joined up but it appears to be devoted to all things redhead -- not just people who are redheads and people who like them (although there's a gallery and such for that) but also things written by redheads, and thought by redheads, and even a shop for redheads.
Videos, music, polls, forums -- the site has it all, but it's all Redhead-centric, and that's the first time I've seen something like that, and I like it: the Internet is serving as a way for people to get together and talk and interact in a more creative way -- not just based on geography or biological ties, but people who have something in common -- especially something that's pretty unique and unusual.
So kudos to you, Redhedd.com, and kudos to you redheads and redhead-lovers who are flocking there.
Not being a redhead, I'll probably stick with my CB radio a little longer.
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