Poet Ponders the Digital

Visalia Direct: Virtual Valley August 19, 2006 Wanting to Share Visalia: Our Wiki Entry Nobody seems to know how to say “Visalia” or “Tulare” when I travel. I explain where I am from by mentioning Fresno and Bakersfield, but it turns out most people have no real understanding of where those cities are, either. “How close are you to Los Angeles or San Francisco?” people asked me at the “Computers and Writing” conference in Lubbock. The intention of the gathering was to share ways to better include technology in meaningful classroom assignments, so I turned on my laptop and headed for some familiar Web sites. “It’s surrounded by farmland,” I tried to explain. “And on a clear day, you can see the Sierras.” I turned to Google Earth to show satellite images of farmland. That still didn’t do the trick. The Texans wanted more information if I was going to claim some place in California was anything like Lubbock. “Just show me the entry on Wiki,” a Texas Tech professor suggested. ...

Visalia Direct: Virtual Valley July 20, 2006 Searching for Visalia Anytime I prepare to visit a new city I turn on my computer, open a Web browser, and head for Google. Entering the city name into the search field usually gives me a great idea of places to see, things to do, and what the local residents consider important. I used to sit in Borders to skim Rand maps and Frommer’s guides, but Google changed everything. In the last three months, I have “Googled” cities in seven states. I often begin with a search for the best Mexican food, a requirement no matter where I travel. Then, I search for places to stay. Ideally, I like to stay within walking distance of whatever I’m doing. It’s amazing what Google has helped me discover, but Google can only find information already on the Web. I began to wonder what would happen if I “Googled” Visalia in exactly the same way I do other cities. I went to Google, entered “Visalia” into the search field, and clicked “Google Search.” I anti...