I love the internet. I love the useless crap I learn from surfing the web, and I dig the useful info I can find 24/7. Since I'm constantly on my computer, the internet has become a valuable asset at work. If I need to know what company builds a drop spindle for a particular truck, I can find the answer in seconds, without having to talk to anyone or use my cell phone. That's what the internet is really good at: helping humans avoid actual contact with other humans. Think about it.
With a home computer and a phone line, you really don't have to leave your house for anything anymore, nor do you have to talk to anyone. You can order a pizza online. There, that takes care of that pesky mandatory nourishment thing. If you get thirsty, you can have a keg delivered to your crib. If your dog smells, you can have the pooch picked up, as well, by a mobile grooming service. Hell, even if you are inclined to leave the house, you can check out most of the hot travel spots beforehand and then book a trip online. About the only thing the internet can't do is customize your truck for you. Although, you can research the hell out of your next project truck online, but you'll still have to visit a custom shop to get the work done.
As much as I'd like to blame the internet for the lack of letters I receive and personal contact with other human beings I enjoy-you remember real mail, don't you? It's the kind that's printed on paper like this magazine-it does have one other thing going for it. The internet is the one resource on the planet with a knack for bringing masses of complete strangers together under a common interest. I can thank internet message boards and forums for allowing me to talk trucks with folks from all over the world. I literally have friends without faces from all over the place who I never would have had the opportunity to chat with, were it not for a few interesting websites that we all frequent. Most of these friends, I've never even met, and it's questionable whether I really know what they even look like. It doesn't matter, though, because every day we get together and rap about the custom truck world, as if we've known each other for decades. That's the beauty of a good message board. As long as you have interesting points of view on a daily basis, the website never gets boring.
I have to admit that until recently I didn't spend much time on our own website, www.sporttruck.com. But, now that it's been relaunched with some really killer features, I hang out there daily. The new site not only looks cool, but it offers free tools that most sites would have you pay for. Want to sell your custom truck or buy another one? There's a free classified ads section in the forums to help out. Want to show your project truck for the world to see and give you feedback? The reader's ride section has room for a ton of photos of your sport truck, and it will let your friends add comments after that latest mod you made. Perhaps best of all, the forums have been improved and are now attracting some pretty interesting characters. The site is really starting to take shape with a section for new videos and never-before-seen photos that didn't appear in the magazine.
Our new website is pretty cool, and it's a gateway to contacting your favorite Sport Truck magazine staffer. Also, our own project trucks are in the reader's rides section. You can check them out and see what we are up to. You can send us a message in the forums, and you now have a direct link to the magazine. Take advantage of it. We'd love to hear what you have to say. See ya next month.