People— some I knew, but most were just kids I’d seen around the school—kept coming up and telling me they’d received my message. They’d heard through the school grapevine that I was I-Man, the guy who started it all. They had got the e-mail from friends and relatives and people they hardly even knew. The message was sent by next-door neighbors or by people down the street, across the city and from the farthest reaches of the whole country. One guy told me he’d received his message from a friend in England…England! Somehow, in less than twelve hours, my message had crossed the Atlantic Ocean and bounced all the way back here. Talk about the potential for Internet mass communications! I rushed into the house. I didn’t even stop to grab something to eat. More than I was hungry, I was curious. I rushed downstairs, pushed through the door to my bedroom and plopped down at the computer. I wiggled the mouse and then clicked on my e-mail account. I wanted to see if I’d received any e-mails before I went online to check out the live messages on MSN.
