Debut (with cats)
Posted on January 14, 2012
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Currently experiencing technical difficulties
Posted on January 5, 2012
Filed Under Conversations, May I Interject?, Thought | Leave a Comment
Over the past few weeks (”the holidays”), I began to observe an uprising (maybe downrising) within myself: I began to burn out on technology. OK, I guess I maybe didn’t burn out on technology, but I did maybe burn out on its mainstream representations.
Nouns
Screens. Smart phones. Computers. Tablets. Apple. Google. Facebook. Social Media. GChat. Facebook Chat. Gmail. AIM. Tumblr. LinkedIn. Twitter. Instagram. Flickr. Yelp. Foursquare. YouTube. Skype. Vimeo. Microsoft. Apps.
Verbs
Log in. Sync. Upload. Upgrade. Poke. Follow. Friend. Text. Compose. Tweet. Subscribe. Post. Message. Share. Chat. Purchase. Like. Check in. Comment. Send. Download. Log out.
Honestly, what is all this shit? I mean, I love it all to death (I mean, I chose to work in the field). But, my hard drive’s full, yo.
I’m not even really talking about “information overload.” I’m talking about communication and the relationships I have with people. After three weeks of having genuine face-to-face conversations with people in real time–with the aesthetics of natural lighting and voice intonation and room temperature and so much more–, I realize that any communication I have via technological method just dilutes the substance of the communication. And, yeah, I’m talking about talking on the phone, too.
In summation, it’s not that I don’t want to talk to you. It’s not that I don’t want to respond with a thoughtful long email detailing the wonders and changes and epic flow of my life. It’s not that I don’t want to text message you all day and night about petty random shit. Really, all it is is that I don’t want to sit in front of a screen to have a meaningful personal exchange, no matter what the screen’s size or shape or quality, because I mentally and physically cannot.
Perhaps I am currently experiencing technical difficulties….
(You can comment on this blog post using the Web form provided, but I’d rather you comment in person.<EMOTICON>)
New “branding” via MTA
Posted on December 24, 2011
Filed Under May I Interject?, New York, Work Cyclical | Leave a Comment
From Google’s “Guide to Running a User Account System”
Posted on December 23, 2011
Filed Under May I Interject?, Work Cyclical | Leave a Comment
Super interesting:
Which face are you presenting to the world?
In our “simple” computer science world, every person would be assigned a “single” ID. In reality, this quickly breaks down because users want to separate their personal and work life. In addition, some people compartmentalize their life further. One compartment might be the way most people know them, but another compartment might be for having affairs, or criminal activity, or dissident behavior. A celebrity might have a compartment for their “regular self,” similar to the Superman character’s “Clark Kent” compartment.
Email addresses turn out to be an amazingly good way for users to create a virtual identify that maps to each compartment in their life. In a large % of cases, users try to avoid linking these different identities. One common technique is to use different webmail providers for different email address, because they are so visually different that it reduces the chances that the user might accidentally perform an action in the wrong account.
So most websites don’t map user accounts to humans, they map them to email addresses, and only the actual human person knows all of their different compartments, along with the email address used to identify each of those compartments in the virtual world.
I’ve talked to many people about virtual v. physical identities. What I’ve found from a series of conversations is:
- People who most refrain from activity on social networks (particularly Twitter and Facebook) don’t see or are not inclined to realize the opportunity to separate the two types of identities, or maybe don’t know how.
- “Growing up with the Internet” means adapting to different audience types and different kinds of interactivity. As a teenager, my virtual and physical identities were the same, but as the Web changed and grew, I learned through careful observance who I should and shouldn’t be online.
I’m fascinated by the (simple) concept that an interface layout can help reassure an identity– PROJECT!
Sunday night, December
Posted on December 4, 2011
Filed Under Conversations, New York, Thought | Leave a Comment
She said: “As life goes on, it gets less desirable to live.”
He said: “Don’t get caught up too much in how you feel right now–on a Sunday night in December.”
Two years
Posted on November 28, 2011
Filed Under May I Interject?, Texas | Leave a Comment
You are missed.
Occupy Wall Street (Set 2)
Posted on November 20, 2011
Filed Under Coverage, New York | 1 Comment
Drums for Bloomberg
Sorry, but “woohoo!”
Posted on October 27, 2011
Filed Under CMU, May I Interject? | 1 Comment
Like him or hate him, but it’s not about him. This rules for people like me.
Shed the meaning
Posted on October 17, 2011
Filed Under May I Interject?, New York, Thought | Leave a Comment
I was walking through Penn Station, and I noticed a homeless woman wearing a Sevendust shirt. I guessed based on her age and demeanor that she probably doesn’t even know what Sevendust is (it’s a shitty band, FYI), nor does she care.
To that woman, it was just a shirt. It presented no external meaning, even right down to its color. It was just a shirt: warmth, protection, convention. She didn’t expect it to say anything about who she was. She lives in a world that is beyond that. To the people she sees, she is no one, and any message she puts forth is lost in musings like this one.
Sketch is like
Posted on October 13, 2011
Filed Under Comedy, May I Interject? | Leave a Comment