I have always loved magic, but it was something that other people did & I watched.



One day I was surfing the net & it struck me that maybe I can learn how to do magic.



I looked around & found all kinds of stuff. Now 3 years & what seems like a million$$$$$$$$$$$$ later, I am hooked for life & involved with some of the greatest people in the world.



If it wasn’t for the internet I would not be here (at the Cafe) or be the person I am today. Magic has given my life a direction & purpose.



For me, the internet brought magic into my life. I don’t think it would have happened any other way.



I LOVE MAGIC

The effect of the internet on magic and just about everything else has been amazing. People who have mutual interests have been able to meet that never would have met before. We can now keep track of friends across the globe.



But the question of whether the glut of magic sites is good or bad is difficult as it’s one of those gray areas. For me the problem arise’s when we (or I) simply take in more data without any time for reflection. Also, the internet has many voices - some wise and experienced and other’s who aren’t - if we (or I) listen to too many voices, our own thoughts are drowned out. I feel that we need to decide who we are going to listen to and why. Hopefully, one of them is ourselves.



Be well ~ Fredrick

Mr Guisti the table hopper and Mr LaPorte made similar points about two people who thought they knew the effects they were watching, and yet the performer had the pizazz to create the effect and fool the knowing.

But 99.99% of internet users aren't the least interested in finding a site which exposes either classic or close-up magic. Who is looking? the kids who want to BE magicians.

The Internet is the library of the new millenium and in a way we should be thankful. That kid will read how it's done and try it out at home and then next weeks pocket money or credit card might be spent buying the illusion he doesn t know the secret to and so on. Now he's hooked and become a new customer for Hank Lee or whomever.

Or maybe he'll go talk to a Magic shop owner.
I saw a group of kids charge into a shop I was in recently and while they didn't have any money to buy they were just like you and I were at age ten or so - the next generation, who are gonna be the magicians.

The modern public all know that MAGIC ain't real but they are allowing themselves to be entertained, with just one exception - mentalism. Someone elsewhere has said it's the last boogyman which people today can be scared witless by.

I'm not so sure the internet exposure is as wide spread as we all think. Yes there are some sites dedicated to exposing secrets at a rapid pace, and these are frequented by the same people.

On most sites (such as this one) there is a ton of information to wade through to find secrets. I think that the ones looking for secrets do not have the patience to gain access to the private areas and the search through all the posts to find secrets.

To give you 2 examples, in a mental magic post on the Genii forum I offered the first 5 posters who emailed me an Effect of mine called "Red, Write and Blue." I only had one email from our own Tom Cutts. This effect went on to be the focus in issue 2 of Tom's publication "AM/PM."

A few weeks ago on this forum in the money magic section under "Muscle Pass" I made the same offer on my easy to do Muscle Pass. Once again only 2 responses.

My point is that I don't think the ones looking just for secrets are spending the time and gaining the information available within these posts. If it's not shoved in their face, they will pass it by.

Hope this makes sense...

Jeff

I love the internet and similarly to Ichazod, the net got me back into a boyhood hobby.
Since I appear to be the first Int'l poster in this thread, as several mentioned above it opens the world for communication with like minded souls.It gave me access to new information I never would have had otherwise.
Most importantly it made me start to really think about what I wanted to do and how I could create some unique magic that suits my (some would say strange) personality.
We all know that to get your chops down takes heaps of practise and I feel that will keep even exposed secrets to a minimum.
Maybe I'm wrong but I think many people forget the 'secrets' quite quickly. A week is a long time in politics and it's a long time in magic too.
Just keep doing your own thing to the best of your ability and I don't think you have much to worry about.
How many people are there on the planet? Over 6 billion. Most of them haven't got the net yet. But most of them will watch some magic.
Just my twopence.