The house is hot today and I need to be around other people, so I did a search on Wifi Free Spot and discovered that my local library system is completely set up with free wi-fi.

So I’m down here in the back where the public access computers are. If you have a valid library card, you can use the computers - which are all connected to the Internet - absolutely free for 30 minutes at a time. While coding on my laptop, I’ve been observing the folks using the computers. There’s been a good distribution of ages, but a good many teens have been hitting the machines closest to me. And what have they been doing on these computers? MySpace. Practically nothing but MySpace. Even the adults who have sat here have been drawn by the MySpace siren call.

In just about each case, they weren’t necessarily looking for their friends. Instead, they were generally browsing the MySpace accounts, looking for attractive members of the opposite sex. One young woman, who looked like she’s just brushing up against 18, was on the phone with someone whom, from the sound of the conversation, she had met through MySpace and was chatting with for the first time. I learned from the conversation that she has joined the Marines (she’s a wisp of a girl - would be interesting to see how that turned out) and that she’ll be shipping out for training in South Carolina in January and, after that, probably being stationed in Japan or Hawaii (I wouldn’t hold my breath - I’d pack some camel repellent if I were her).

The conversation actually disturbed me a bit. Not so much because of the topic, but because it sort of demonstrated the danger that a connected world can create. She had her cell phone and was surfing in a public library, talking to some strange guy she had just met online. She was making plans to meet up with him tomorrow night. When I say she was a wisp of a girl, I mean she was 5′1″ and maybe 100 lbs. It didn’t matter whether she was 18 or 14, the message is the same - if you’re going to let your kids have access to these cool communications technologies, make sure they’re smart about using them and keeping safe. I’m being judgmental here, I realize that, but I can’t escape the sense that she was walking into a dangerous situation.

After she left, a slightly older guy came in and began browsing MySpace, clicking on all the links that said, “Check out my HOT PICS!!!”, then quickly scrolled up once they loaded. He knew I was looking, but he didn’t seem to care.

A single mom, desperate to get her life settled, spent a couple of hours with a friend looking up apartments to rent. Her kid hasn’t started school because she didn’t want to have him start somewhere then pull him out once they found a place to live that may be outside the school district. I flashed on what it must have been like for my mom when I was growing up. I suddenly wished I had an apartment complex to rent out.

For a while now, I’ve been toying with the idea of trying an experiment in entrepreneurship. You start with $20 and access to a networked computer and nothing more, then try to turn the $20 into $1,000 within a year. It’s not a new idea by any means, but I have yet to read about anyone who actually met the challenge, and I’m pretty sure it’s do-able. The theory is that anyone with a bit of ingenuity and drive can make money on the Internet starting with almost nothing. The public library erases that niggling little question of, “If I have nothing, how can I get access to the Internet?” Of course, the 30 minute limit adds an interesting wrinkle to the whole mess, but I still think it can be done.

So, what are the observations I’m walking away with?

• Most folks - young and old - will go out of their way just to use MySpace, even taking time from their day to visit the local library just for the privilege. The social web works.
• The possibility of making something from almost nothing is certainly more realistic thanks to my local library.
• It’s easy for the creepy stalker sitting in the corner and leering over his laptop to TOTALLY find out what you’re surfing and talking about in the public library. So, y’know, watch yourself.