Cyberspace is a wonderful place. A virtual little world, that is just like the real world, but with some major differences.

Each denizen of Cyberspace has a virtual home. This is a wonderful place from which we begin each day. Our virtual home has our favorite news stories and stock quotes. It is designed to our specifications and floor plan with our favorite colors, fonts and graphics. It has a doorbell and welcome mat. There are no rents, leases or mortgages to pay. It is the control center from which we live our virtual lives.

Each citizen of Cyberspace has their own virtual mailbox. In it, is the virtual email that we get from our friends around the world. No postage stamps to be, envelopes to lick or zip codes to memorize. In our virtual mail we get letters, catalogs, sales fliers, important information, bills and even junk mail (lots and lots of junk mail). We can read it, store it or reply to it now or later. We can delete it with the click of a button. Our trash cans are automatically emptied, as often as we choose.

We have virtual jobs. Some of us are teachers. Some are artists. Still others technicians. Some are policemen. Some are peacemakers. Still others are humanitarians, philanthropists and philosophers.

There are virtual schools and universities that offer us tutorials on a myriad of subjects. Each tutorial is personalized and we can ask questions and get personalized Help at the touch of a button. We are not given midterms, there are no tests to pass or fail AND no pop quizzes. There are no classrooms and nap time is as long as we want it to be.

There are virtual Houses of Worship and each one accepts new members at any time. There are no collection plates or sermons. Just people praying with other people. You don't have to be of one denomination or another ... just have an open mind and heart and be willing to believe.

There are virtual shopping malls where you can shop 'til you drop (or your credit card maxes out) You can shop for Coffee in South America, jewelry in the Orient or sundries from any one of your favorite local department stores .... all without leaving your seat. There are virtual gift certificates, shopping bonuses and coupons to virtually clip. There are giveaways and prize drawings virtually every day. You have virtual carts, shopping bags and boxes that you can stuff to the brim with your favorite merchandise. You can listen to CDs and play demos of games before you buy them.

There are virtual laws that govern Cyberspace, much like the real world. There is etiquette, netiquette and forum rules. Rules for posting, pasting and positioning. Rules for optimizing, ostracizing and organizing. There are virtual emoticons which let people know how we are feeling at any given moment. There's Cyberspeak and ChatTalk. There are even cyberpolice, moderators and sheriffs who will oust you from a forum or chatroom, should you get a bit too rowdy... There is virtual jail and time-out (for the hardened criminals among us).

There are virtual music halls, art museums, photography galleries and poetry readings for the more cultured among us. Virtual books, magazines and pictorials. Virtual pizza parlors, sub shops and candy stores, where we can eat to our heart's content and never gain an ounce. There are virtual bouquets, flowers and gifts. We can have champagne taste on a champagne budget.

There's a virtual postal authority that monitors our mail, and a software transit system that navigates us from place to place within Cyberspace. There are commercial advertisements and billboards everywhere enticing us to buy this or download that.

We can watch movies or TV shows, listen to music or just hang out with virtual friends at the virtual coffee house. We can host public town meetings for hundreds or a private, intimate rendezvous for two.

There are all kinds of people too. Nice people. Devious people. Smart people. Geeks, Freaks and Nerds. There are con men, criminals and spammers who can actually perpetuate crimes against us or even with our help, if we let them.

There are organizations, societies, associations, guilds and other groups to join. Some give you splendid virtual member badges to hang on your virtual walls.

There are virtual awards for creating web sites, art, poetry and music. There are awards for just being a kind person, a caring person or a giving person.

There are virtual gifts and cards that are presented on birthdays, anniversaries, holidays. There are virtual hugs, kisses, handshakes and smiles.

In Cyberspace, we can virtually say what we please or look like we want. We can be younger, more attractive, sexier, smarter and healthier. We can flirt and tease. We can be mean, rotten and downright irritating. We can have cool names like Spider2, VirtualMomma, Monsterboy or Spaz. We have self-confidence, boldness and courage. We are athletic and gifted.

We can be anything we want and everything we're not. Within the boundless realm of Cyberspace we can soar like eagles and our imagination has no bounds.

Come to think of it ... Reality Bites!!!!

John Oakley (JJ)
WebBits Editor