The Internet is an amazing place.
Think of anything… anything at all, from news to sports, hobbies and history, to people, places and every weird, wonderfully perverted thing a fevered human mind can conjure up (ewww, that’s nasty)… and you’ll find it on the Web.
The whole world, in fact, is available to you right from your comfy little computer desk at home. You can exchange ideas with people around the globe in chat rooms while wearing Spiderman pajamas, peruse pictures of any destination imaginable, and watch the action live on streaming webcams, all without ever having to budge from the couch. It’s a very powerful tool, albeit one people for some reason seem to like to use mostly for posting funny pictures of cats or to insult each other anonymously.
However, the Internet isn’t just for connecting to and exploring the great big world out there — and all its cats, porn and ranting opinions — but also for discovering the diversity right in your own backyard… which may or may not also include opinionated anonymous douches and the bags they rode in on.
There may also be cats.
If you just go to Google and search for “Squamish,” you’ll of course find the usual municipal and tourism sites. But unless you’re researching some fact or figure for a term paper or particularly descriptive postcard, most of those sites aren’t meant for your average Squamish local.
We know, for example, that it tends be a bit on the damp and soggy side in these here parts, so we’re not gaining any mind-shattering revelations by reading on Wikipedia that Squamish “is one of the wettest inhabited locations in Canada” — although the municipal site is very handy for locals, especially for watching live council meetings and shouting encouraging things at the screen (alright! Backyard chickens are on the agenda again!).
Instead of a conventional search engine, go over to Facebook and type in “Squamish.” What you’ll find is a smorgasbord of groups and affiliations you had no idea existed. You can get rid of all your crap — er, “used items” — connect with Squamish moms (well, if you’re a mom), join the gardening group, or find locals who share your unique interests. There’s a group just for geeks, people who “vape” using e-cigarettes, play online games, ride horses and a lot more… just make sure you have a thick digital skin so you can tolerate the online trolls lurking around and occasionally posting derogatory and/or just plain mean comments.
My current favourite Facebook group is a new one called “Dumbass Parkers of Squamish.” Members amuse themselves — and the rest of us — by posting pics showing examples of locals’ questionable parking skills. It’s both funny and sad… so very, very sad. Licence plate numbers are removed from the photos, of course, to protect the spatially disabled.
But it’s just one of a seemingly endless list of groups or pages where people are connecting and sharing Squamish life online. Take the time to browse all these local groups on Facebook, join in, or maybe even start one of your own.
I actually didn’t find a “Squamish Group for Funny Cat Pictures”… but of course, this being the Internet, it’s only a matter of time. Isn’t it an amazing place?
