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22 May 2007

keep on keeping on

Is it just me, or, despite the increasing availability of online communication tools and social-networking software designed to connect people, it is becoming proportionately harder to actually keep in touch?

The problem lies in the frequency at which all of these social tools emerge, become wildly popular, and are rendered obsolete when replaced by newer social tools.

I can't keep up with the very things that are supposed to help us keep up with things. This is a problem.

I consider myself to be fairly technologically savvy. And, after all, I am doing my MA thesis on just this kind of subject matter: blogs as tools for story-sharing and connection. But just as I begin to investigate the idiosyncracies of blogs, to try to understand all the virtual chatter that takes place in the blogosphere, and to describe the voices that "speak" within it, suddenly things are becoming very...quiet.

Large parts of the blogosphere are becoming ghost towns. Dusty blogs sit stagnant, left months without an update or a comment and are declared dead after 3 months of inactivity. Internet fame is fickle, and it is hard to sort through all of the ghost blogs and their dead links, to track down living blogs, even using search sites such as technorati. This becomes especially problematic for my research.

The voices, the words, and the people who are sharing them, have taken their digital soapboxes and begun to move on. The internet hosts a travelling caravan of online entertainers and raconteurs. Those who have something to say, want what they say to be heard. They follow the action. They go to Youtube and Facebook. On a more personal level, when the next social/sharing phenomenon comes along, and I believe that will be sooner than we think, will I have to pack up all my friends again, only to "find" them again on another online venue? This is silly, and yet I am a slave to the system because I move, physically, around a lot and I do want to keep in touch.

Maybe blogs are just a moment in time, evidence of one attempt to connect us to eachother. My generation seems to be one of movers and travellers. Perhaps communication technology is simply being developed this rapidly to try to keep up with the pace of life of those who move around so much. Maybe it is just racing to keep up with us.

2 comments:

syl said...

hey dallas,
i totally agree...all these ways to keep in touch and i find it impossible to :)

i am guilty of abandonning my blog for months on end, but i have updated it a few times since school has ended :o! haha

i hope everything is great with you, i know we keep saying this but mike and i are coming down for a visit in the summer...just a matter of when.

no more school to worry about!!!

say hello to brian and jenny for me! :) love love xoxo

j'tan said...

I thought it most appropriate to comment on this post, given my recent neglect :)

I'm loving your pictures, and the fact that you're making pies from scratch! The series of Jennie in cerulean is stunning. I'm reminded of Devil Wears Prada, since that's the only time I've ever heard that colour in context, but it doesn't make the colours any less brilliant.

Saigon is playing at Huron Country Playhouse from July 18th - August 4th, and I think you can get tickets online here if you're interested. I would absolutely love to see you if you're up, and you're welcome to stay here as well if you're coming for an evening performance or just want to spend some time on the beach :) Let me know!

jon