Two Fun Ways to Spend Time on the Internet

Anyone with an inquisitive mind knows that there are limits as to how long the internet can capture one's attention. The information highway provides limitless information, no doubt, but that doesn't mean the average person is only interested in gathering information.

For more recreational pursuits, there's a need for something that engages the user a bit more than just providing news streams or entertainment updates.

Most people are creative. They want to play an active role in the activities they choose to take part in. They've grown tired of surfing idly at their keyboards and begin their online searches for something more involved.

The only problem is that searching for 'fun things to do on the internet' will probably lead you to places that bore you, too, simply because everyone has different interests. Putting on headphones and listening to music for hours, or joining the latest superstar's viral and virtual fan club might be exciting enough for one person to point another to it.

The creative person is bored easily when they aren't using their talents. That's not to say the creative person doesn't enjoy listening to music and engaging with fan forums, but if the creative element is missing, the interest of the creative person will wane quickly.

This guide focuses on two activities that have proven themselves to hold an internet user's attention. The internet user that loves all things creative and challenging will find that this article does indeed lead them to somewhere they've been looking for.

Here are two things to do on the internet that won't bore the creative mind. Perhaps more importantly, neither are one-dimensional in nature, and they both have long lasting appeal to those who want to be involved with their chosen internet entertainment.

These types of games were made for people that prefer a challenge that won't be solved overnight. They are engrossing adventures that could become time-consuming pitfalls for the unwary. They are the MMORPGs - the scourge of spouses and loved ones everywhere, because the person that discovers one they like often disappears for hours at a time.

There's one aspect of these games that creative people will find more appealing than possibly anything they've encountered online before - the sheer size of the imaginary worlds most MMORPGs take place on. Now throw in amazing artwork, brilliant narration or story lines, and the ability to create a unique character with which to explore this world with, and you have an experience that creative people will enjoy immensely.

Both of the fun things to do in this article should carry a warning, though. It's not healthy to become so engrossed with anything online that you find your real life duties or relationships suffering. Because being creative is a trait that forces the person so endowed to act out in activities that tend to be lengthy, common sense sometimes get pushed aside, forgotten.

Internet users that engage in MMORPGs, especially, should be aware of the real dangers involved. My advice, if you find yourself devoting your life to one or more of these games, you need to stop playing them.

For the person that uses moderation when joining these game worlds, they will find the experience unforgettable.

The freedom to create is something that other games normally fail to deliver. My favorite MMORPG, Dungeons and Dragons Online, has enough variations in character creation that no two characters are alike. The creativity doesn't end there, though, because MMORPG players can continually upgrade characters in various ways during game play.

There are literally hundreds of excellent MMORPG game worlds to explore. Each is based upon a broad theme, so each is really different from the next, though some might say otherwise. One trait all good fantasy games share is the option to make powerful characters. One can then take these characters to imaginary places that will inspire the player to work with other like-minded players to solve great mysteries or take on formidable foes, and to write their own histories.

For the person that likes to make something out of nothing, to create, there aren't any games better suited for that than MMORPGs, like Dungeons and Dragons Online.

Imagine, if you will, a writer's workshop, where everyone is bouncing ideas off one another and picking each other up when one is down about their writing. Sounds like any writer's workshop at any university, right? Ok, now add in the fact that the entire student body is international.

I'm talking about writing platforms, specifically HubPages. This is a place where those with creative minds can write down their thoughts and ideas and actually get paid for doing so. The fact that most online writing platforms are monetized does indeed bring in new people by the thousands. But, it's the creative people that love to write and rub virtual elbows with other writers that stay.

In certain circles, these platforms are known as content farms, internet diarrhea, and other insulting monikers. Take it from someone who's been writing on HubPages for six months now - it's a writer's site. Sure, there are internet experts that utilize these types of sites for their own considerable financial gain. That's what they do, and some of them are fantastic writers, as well. But, the great thing about HubPages is that you or I can jump in and get started writing and publishing.

Or we can look at it this way. If HubPages only wanted writers who were experienced search engine specialists and long-term online money makers, then why is the platform so easy to use for beginners? That's because it's an all-inclusive site. Anyone from anywhere in the world, with whatever writing background, can write here. That feature was instrumental in creating a site that is exciting, fun, and educational to use.

When I began publishing on HubPages, I considered myself to be a decent writer. I found, to my amazement, that there weren't just a few who could write better, but thousands. What did this mean for me? It meant that I could learn from these people. And I did. And today, I'm happy to say, my writing has improved tenfold.

But the reason I joined Hubpages wasn't to get an education. It was to write and create. And I've found the platform to fit perfectly what I want it to do for me. The freedom to write whatever I want and publish it immediately is here, and that's a rare thing to find for a novice writer.

Getting an audience to read what you've written, and then turning those views into earnings, is tricky, to say the least. There aren't any easy answers as to how to get to that place in your writing. But, because the earnings are there for people that learn how to tap into them, HubPages creates excitement, too.

It's a thrill to see what I've written in print, online, for the whole world to see. There's a personal sense of accomplishment every time I publish something online. I view online writing platforms as a challenge, much like I view MMORPGs as challenging.

Those with creative minds can make a game of writing on HubPages, or they can take it as it really is - a wonderful place to meet new people that love to do many of the same things you and I do.

It's just a bunch of creative people from all over the world thrown in together to make something beautiful - a creator's paradise.