SEVERAL RESIDENTS HAVE SITES

Eighteen individuals have web sites that are linked to the official Jackson web site, sponsored by the city of Jackson and the Jackson Chamber of Commerce.

Although a handful are no longer active links -- primarily college students who have apparently taken their sites off-line for the summer, the remainder provide an interesting variation of occupations and interests.

Lisa Smith, administrator of the Jackson web site, has one of the sites herself. So does Jackson High School alumna Dr. Linda Godwin, of NASA fame. Sites vary from Ryan O'Loughlin's nautical theme, to the Boy Scout-based site of Rhonda Vandergriff, to Roger Riley's motorcyclist site, to this journalist's site, which includes a trivia quiz.

The links appear in the "Who is Jackson" section of "The 5 W's" category on the Jackson web. The levels of sophistication and complexity vary from site to site, but each one links back to the old home town.

"I just wanted anyone visiting the site to see what and where Jackson was all about," said Riley whose site is titled "Gold Wings, Roads & Eats." It includes motorcycle links, a site to post stolen bikes, a list of "great rides," top places to eat and a biker photo gallery.

"Well, I am a Jackson native. It's where I was born and raised and I am proud of the small town values that was instilled in me from growing up there," said O'Loughlin, a 1996 JHS graduate, now majoring in political science at the University of Missouri-Columbia. "I am a son, so to speak, of Jackson and I think it is only appropriate that I give credit where credit is due. It played a very important part of my childhood by giving me those values."

O'Loughlin is also a Midshipman in the Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps and left for the Adriatic Sea this weekend. His site plays "Anchors Away" and proudly displays navy crests and a warship.

"Hometown pride and a connection to my past network of friends and neighbors" led Cody May, a University of Misosuri-Rolla engineering management major, to link to the Jackson web. "I wanted to be a part of the city's intelligent choice of becoming part of the World Wide Web. I still get friends from Jackson that send me an e-mail after not hearing from them for year saying, 'Yea, I saw your link on the Jackson page and I figured I'd see how you were doing and what you are up to."'

What prompts one to put his/her life (or one small part of it) on the cyber bands, for the world to view?

"I wanted people to know what I was doing in the world," O'Loughlin said. "With my career choice, an officer in the US Navy, I will go to all parts of the world and it will be very easy for me to lose touch with my friends. Having a site on the web is the quickest, easiest way for them to find out what I'm doing. That was the main reason."

O'Loughlin also enjoyed the pure challenge of trying to launch a web site without any formal training in the field.

"I had some time to kill one Friday night and I started looking at the programming from other web pages," he said. "I figured out what I needed to do by looking at those. So, in a way, it was a challenge for me to make one having no real training on web page programming language. I guess you can say I like a challenge."

"I believe it started out as an experiment and learning experience and turned into my own little home on the world wide web," May said.

Many see the on-line world a dangerous place, filled with stalkers and other bad elements. None of the web masters contacted were overly concerned about their own~ safety.

"When you make a page, especially about yourself, common sense would dictate that you be smart about what you're doing," O'Loughlin said. "If you put up too personal information, like an address or phone number, you could be inviting trouble. I'm not saying that the Internet is an unsafe environment, but there could be people out there who could use your openness and candidness on the Internet against you. You are putting yourself at an increased risk, though, when you are too open. The basic principle I follow is 'be smart about it. "'

"No one from the net has yet tried to hunt me down," May said. "There are certainly ways to get yourself into trouble, like chat rooms, etc. But just as long as you use common sense you'll be fine."

Amount of time spent on-line varies. According to May, he spends 20 to 40 hours per week on-line, using it mainly for e-mail, "finding product information," etc. This writer probably spends an average of 15 hours a week on-line, checking e-mail, exchanging messages in ICQ and chatting in Yahoo Trivia Madness chat rooms. O'Loughlin put in seven to 10 hours per week during the school year, including e-mail, school work and checking out various Navy web sites. Riley estimates spending about three hours a day, "reading mail, stock prices, (and using) search engines for different subjects."

The Internet and World Wide Web have changed the face of today's globe. In business, in hobbies, even in romance, the Internet has put information and communications at one's finger tips like few would have imagined a generation ago.

"The Internet has made an entire new generation of people computer literate," O'Loughlin said. "When I was in grade school, there wasn't an Internet. Now, grade schoolers are using the Internet in the classroom and I think that's great. Not only does it familiarize you with a computer, but more importantly, it makes you unafraid of using one and that is very important in today's technologically based professions. In fact, you would be hard pressed to find a job that did not require the use of some basic computer skill."

"It has made my life a lot easier," May said. "From on-line yellow pages, driving directions, and maps of the US in detail to free e-mail, technical support, free music format and live feeds, free programs and FTP and download sites, up-to-the-minute stock reports and news, video and audio clips, everything. It has provided me with a wealth of knowledge and services. Without it the world wouldn't be nearly as efficient -- and sometimes vulnerable."

"The biggest thing I see is the amount of information it has put at our finger tips," Riley said.

O'Loughlin has another reason for the Internet's importance -- one that should be familiar by now to Woodland patrons.

"The Internet is one of the last bastions of totally free speech," he noted. "Granted, there are certain things that should not appear on the net -- things like child pornography, which has been regulated against. However, I am not a big fan of some forms of censorship.

"Let parents decide what their kids should and should not see on the net. There are programs available to allow parents to prohibit pages on the net from being seen on their computer. That is the way to regulate the Internet, not with legislation. Who knows, maybe then parents can get more involved in their kids lives and tragedies like Columbine High School wouldn't happen."

Whatever one's views of the Internet, the cyber world is ripe for the harvesting. With simple web-building programs, such as Geocities' "GeoBuilder" and others, anyone with basic keyboard-monitor skills can create a web site (i.e., this writer). Anyone with Jackson ties who does, is welcome to join in and link to the Jackson web site.

"We're always happy to add someone new," Smith said. Jackson, it appears, is a growing community on-line, as well as in real life.