From an overview of how the Internet works--including a primer on computer communication and explanations of how providers like America Online, CompuServe, Microsoft Network, and the many lesser-known companies operate--to a savvy insider's evaluation of the services available to gay men and lesbians online, Richard Laermer presents a definitive survey of what's happening in queer cyberspace today and how to make the most of it.
Get On With It describes how to meet people with common interests, find information on health and other personal issues, keep up with the latest news, learn about travel or drag, and simply do more online. More than 350 World Wide Web sites and other internet access areas are discussed and rated candidly. Learn how to use E-mail uniquely, join newsgroups en masse, get into chat areas, surf the Net for outrageous and unpredictable sites, and where to go "off-line." Such controversial matters as pornography, privacy, and censorship are also investigated in detail.
Laermer has moved from writing books for gay and lesbian travelers (The Gay & Lesbian Handbook to New York City, Dutton, 1994) to authoring a virtual travel guide to the Internet, written in a hip, conversational style that uses graphic language. Laermer covers ways to connect to the Internet, including online services like America Online and cybercafes as well as ISPs. He also goes into detail about lesbian- and gay-related Usenet groups and Internet Relay Chat. More than a how-to-use-the-Internet guide, this book helps the socially as well as technologically shy with directions on how to flirt online and how to meet and mingle, and it even includes a chapter devoted to guiding readers to gay porn. While running the risk of being already out of date, Gay & Lesbian On-line (LJ 1/97), the only other book on this subject, might be more suitable and useful for libraries already worried about the Internet and sex. Libraries not facing such problems will find this guide informative and up-to-date.?Jerilyn Veldof, Univ. of Arizona Lib., Tucson Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From the Publisher
From an overview of how the Internet works to a savvy insider's evaluation of the services available to gay men and lesbians online, Richard Laermer presents a definitive survey of what's happening in queer cyberspace today and how to make the most of it.
Excerpted from Get On With It: The Gay and Lesbian Guide to Getting Online by Richard Laermer. Copyright 1997 by Richard Laermer.
I am a well-known authority (read big mouth) on media and the author of the brand new book "2011: Trendspotting" plus coauthor of "Punk Marketing" and author of "Full Frontal PR." I'm pretty regularly quoted in papers, magazines, TV and the online society about the strange goings-on in the so-called fourth estate--and future trends. A former magazine and newspaper journalist, I have lots of other books, too. But...
My day job is as veteran CEO of the independent public relations firm RLM PR (RLMpr.com)
I am also the host of the new radio show Unspun and the co-manager of BadPitchBlog (badrelease.com).
RLM PR is the aggressive and particularly creative group that represents some of the top mid-tech (online/wireless/software), entertainment, healthcare, entrepreneurial, publishing, and 'uniquely positioned' businesses. Founded way back in 1990. Seems like a long time ago.
You can sign up for the RLM trendSpotting Report at www.RLMpr.com. It's monthly and you won't want your 15 minutes back.
Other books: trendSpotting, published in 2002 from Plume, has become the single most fun trend reference guide for the new millennium. And I'm proud to say the series Native's Guide to New York series is in fifth edition from WW Norton.
I have a single goal: to ensure marketing in its old style glory will never be the same and show people how to make money by spotting trends and diving into them.
Have a wealth of experience on many-many-sides of the media, as a well versed media junkie and sometime guru. Worked as a reporter beginning in 1980, and columns, reporting, and reviews have been published in The New York Times, the New York Daily News, Reuters, USA Today, People, Saturday Review, US, Interview, The New York Post, and Rolling Stone, Editor & Publisher, Crains, among others.
Books have been reviewed and featured on CNN, The Today Show, CBS Sunday Morning, MSNBC, National Public Radio, New York One News, and Bloomberg radio/TV, as well as dozens of other local TV, radio, and online venues. I am recognized as the bubbly guy on Public Radio's Marketplace program, also known as The PR Professional, doling out stories depicting how the media works for and with PR every day.
Founded RLM when I recognized companies' increasing need for effective media representation. Saw clearly how publicists were not grasping the intricacies of their clients' businesses. With many years' experience as a journalist, I finally saw how crucial it was to deliver results for clients while respecting the demands placed on overburdened reporters. Over the past decade, RLM PR has gotten results for its clients by capitalizing on current and emerging trends.
In 2003, I shocked a few friends and acquaintances on both coasts by moving to CA to open RLM's office there. I'm not there that much anymore and have become particularly bicoastal. I still spend half my time looking at airline seatbacks, however, where I travel on behalf of clients and am featured at speaking engagements worldwide (which I love).
For more see Laermer.com and PunkMarketing.com.
Please write me. I'd like to know what is up. I'll get back quickly. [BlackBerry junkie.]
