I was introduced to someone the other night and after the obligatory, unsanitary practice of shaking hands, the older gentleman said, “are you the Internet guy?”
“Yes, I am. But unlike Al Gore, I don’t lay claim to inventing it,” I joked.
He quipped back, “Are you into that porn and other crazy stuff on the computer?”
I couldn’t help but laugh, but he was serious. I asked what he meant and was a little taken back when he explained that the only thing he knows about the Internet is that it’s full of things that would make a Puritan die of embarrassment.
I had a fun time explaining to him that while there is a great deal of “that kind of stuff” on the Internet, there’s plenty of other things to do such as look up his family history, buy a new pair of shoes that he can have shipped to his home for free, find a recipe for meatloaf and reconnect with old classmates and friends.
“All my friends are dead and I only buy my shoes at Florsheim,” he said.
The old guy was a tough nut to crack, but in the end I think I did a pretty good job making him understand that the Internet is not an online red light district.
Our quick conversation ended in a laugh and another unsanitary handshake. As I walked away I turned to my friend and said, “you had to drag me into that one didn’t you?”
“Hey, at least I didn’t tell him you sold sweaters for weasels!”
Yeah, thanks. This was much better.