There is an old Middle-Eastern proverb that I heard a long time ago, ironically, from a Brazilian: "The caravan passes, and the dogs sit in the dust, barking."It resurfaced today in a piece on cyberscience-fiction author Bruce Sterling--"Let Them Eat Tweets" http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/19/magazine/19wwln-medium-t.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=Tweets&st=cse. Didn't know about him before, since I am neither a "techie" nor a sci-fi fan. In case you are wondering, as I was, what "memes" are in a cyber-context--here is a link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_meme.
I do, however, feel vindicated in not jumping on the Twitter bandwagon and for keeping my cellphone private. (When the inevitable terrorist attack occurs that knocks out the transmission towers, I will still have my land line).
The "law of the pendulum" never fails. If something swings from "cutting-edge" to "mass-market," its value declines. It is Sterling's contention that "Connectivity is poverty," i.e. that most people now cannot afford privacy, and that those of us who cannot unplug are suffocated by the barrage of incessant, often superfluous online communications that run many of our lives these days.
Bottom line: If you are really "All That," then no one can get you on your cell phone and you don't even bother with Twitter unless you are planning to make money from others' use of it, to wit, Oprah. PS--Don't her personal assistants already have enough to do?
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2 comments:
I will not claim to fully understand neither the article nor the speaker referenced, but the quote “connectivity is poverty"intrigues me. I think I get the gist (if you are rich, famous, or important enough, you don't need to be connected through measly technology), but for those of us who are not rich, famous, or important, I'd say an accurate phrase is "connectivity is power". I'm currently involved in two grassroots efforts against powerful entities ... and the way technology is used to communicate and transmit information quickly is definitely advantageous to us. Personally, I would never "follow" someone who is rich, famous, or important enough to not have tweeted it themselves ... much like I rate the authenticity (different from accuracy) of blogs.
I so agree. A quote from a recent encounter with a Tibetan lama: "Is it better to keep learning more, or stop and use what you already know?"
Twitter will probably stay off my radar. Even though I have a FaceBook account, I don't really like it. Find it a little spooky at times and also do wonder why people feel a need to share what they are doing at the moment.
Your posts always make me think. Thanks.
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