• by Seana Mulcahy , June 4, 2007

The Internet has become a necessity, not a luxury. It's funny because I, like you, remember when we looked at the Web differently. Remember putting together all those slides for sales deck pitches and presentations? The ones that showed the penetration of the Internet as a medium? Or how about the slide captioned, "Pretty soon everyone will be online."

There was also a lot of time spent caveating the lack of standards and laws online. People were concerned with their safety and their children's safety. They were cautious; some were resistant.

Thank goodness those times have changed. Not sure about you, but my presentations have shifted entirely. They have scratched way below the surface. The slides speak to how people are using the Internet as a part of daily life.

Sure, we all read headlines of freaks posing as teenage boys to lure teen girls on sites like MySpace. But we feel like we're armed with information; we are savvy. We warn our kids to keep their identities confidential, profiles private, and conversations safe.

People were afraid of online banking and financial transactions. They were also afraid of participating in online auctions and classifieds. Now sites like eBay and Craig's List are household names. However, people remain cautious. They know there are scammers who post knockoff goods. They know if a classified ad seems fishy. However, many reply with nondescript email address from Gmail and the like. More and more people do their banking and transacting online. This too requires knowledge and caution. I'm still dealing with a major case of online mix-up with Fleet Bank.

I'm sure you'll agree times have really changed online. We still complain about needing better measurement methods. We want more protection from spam and viruses. We think online privacy policies are a requirement for anyone doing business online. We remain nervous when we know our kids are constantly online (and many are more savvy than us).

I was surprised to see that the Senate passed a resolution (S. Res. 205) that declared June national Internet Safety Month. Senators Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), Vice Chairman of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) sponsored the resolution. Many others backed it.

The Resolution "calls on Internet safety organizations, law enforcement, educators, community leaders, parents, and volunteers to increase their efforts to raise the level of awareness for the need for online safety in the United States."

In a recent press release Senator Stevens had a solid quote: "The Internet is no longer a luxury for American families, but a necessity. It is important to provide a safe online environment for children because use of the Internet is an essential part of our children's education."

That being said, shouldn't every month be Internet Safety Month? Come on, people. I'm glad our fine senators are starting to recognize the Internet, but this is just dipping a toe in the water.