We will never understand the human inside the monitor any more than we understand the "man in the moon." The mystery remains appealing to us only as long as we continue to discover new and extraordinary myths to surround the technology. To some, a friend that keeps us company, to others, an enemy that eats our time, the monitor has taken hold of our lives like nothing ever has. Technology is the Pandora's box that fascinates us into believing that it is impossible to turn off the monitor once it has been illuminated.

Technology provides profound experiences for a variety of individual personality types. The monitor relates to us poignant stories and delivers news as well as entertainment. Our lives would not be the same were it not for the experiences we've lived through watching the glowing screen of the television and the computer monitor. We have become desensitized to the presence of this wealth of information that is always at our fingertips, and yet it has been used to cultivate multitudes of communities through individual members and their endless hunger for content.

The computer and our intimate interaction with the monitor are providing us a condensed glimpse of our culture's continuing infatuation with television. The computer mouse has taken over the role of the remote control by providing access to selective information on demand. We seek to have power over every aspect of our lives by obtaining control of our experiences and inevitably telling our own tales through our own choices. Spontaneity is still extremely rewarding for those of us who allow ourselves to be surprised as the narrative develops instead of writing every scene in the script. Storytelling in current society is particularly primitive when seen in this light.

We hold the torch to technology in our search for every last speck of knowledge that can be discovered. Seeking fact or fable, we are indelibly linked to our precious network in an attempt to understand and participate in the world around us. The evolution of the human narrative continues to be at the heart of our romance with the technological cave. As monitors both grow and shrink we are forced to acknowledge technology as a new member of our community, due to the influence of the content that we seduce from within the glowing box. The enlightenment this information provides, not only casts our shadow on the wall of the cave, but also serves to inform us that we are not alone in that cave.

Our community exists whether or not we actively participate as a member.

The world is continuing to evolve regardless of each community member's level of energy and participation, but the primary community principle relies on the fact that people feel the need to be inspired by other people. Just as figurative painting has been and will always be a relevant form of human experience, so will oral and written communication be forever relevant to human experience. Our society is in such a hurry to move on to the next level of evolution that we forget to truly revel in and experience the story of our current state. Quality of life is forgotten in our rush to form new revolutions in the light of the display.

We must first evolve before we can comprehend the changes we are undertaking in our abstract exchange of information. Identifying advanced methods of interacting with, and including one another in, our communities is the key. This is the only chance our society has to overcome mental, geographical, and prejudicial barriers to achieve a true global consciousness.

This global community is undergoing an evolution that continues to develop. In fact, with a focus on instant information and countless places to vent and seek answers anonymously, the World Wide Web is actually becoming a support mechanism. We literally have affection for the monitor because of the importance of the information that it delivers. Steve Jobs and Apple certainly understand the level of intimacy necessary to keep a loyal brand community fascinated. From the beginning of personal computing the Mac OS interface has smiled in greeting us. And they are interacting with us emotionally through our music.

People are increasingly turning to the Internet when searching for a place to belong. In addition to providing tools and resources for researching virtually any aspect of information, the Web offers new ways to find others with similar interests. "The Internet has become the neighborhood," says Ellen Galinsky, president of the Families & Work Institute, a New York non-profit research organization.

The Internet provides twenty-four hour accessibility to captivating content and it allows community members to share information based on their own individual preferences. The World Wide Web acts as the energy well for those individuals seeking kindred spirits to help recharge their batteries. Users welcome this digital stranger like a friend, but the truth remains that the Internet may just as soon restrain us as liberate us.

Advertising-driven interactive television is the unavoidable future. The computer monitor and the television are predestined to be joined. My computer is my phone, is my remote control, is my garage door opener, is my organizer, and they all fit in one device in the palm of my hand. Or is that a "chip" in the palm of my hand?

The Internet is an evolved method of sales and communication for today's businesses and community participants. What began as a new publishing medium has transformed into an interactive broadcast media environment. Our interest with the content inside the monitor is increasingly serving as a metaphor for the lives we live.

As business becomes more technologically advanced and routines are increasingly automated we are provided the opportunity to push our mental capacity beyond our physical capacity. It has become progressively more important to recognize the need for creative content. Once the audience is thoroughly engaged, we can begin to measure the value of the content presented to them. Leading communities by providing an abundance of information for fascination sets the stage for this "pull" technology.