We are not tools of the government...
Ho hum,
So I might possibly be the last person in class to post their first blog but I'm not very good at it and haven't had very good experience with it in the past.
Why haven't I had good experience with blogging you might ask? It's an interesting story. At the beginning of this year I was persuaded by a friend to begin my very own Weblog. At first I was hesitant because I had no reason to have a weblog but she convinced me it would be a good hub for my friends to check into and see what was going on in my life when they were too busy to see me. I considered this and in February I started one.
Things went well at first. I posted the happenings of my life and my friends left me comments and the like. It all went wrong when later in the year before mid-year break I had started dating this girl I was interested in. Things were fine until unexpectedly she ended things and we haven't been on speaking terms since. Later I found out she had read my blog and there was an entry that referred to her as an "Ice Queen" and someone who lacked compassion that most human beings were capable of and that I was glad I wasn't friends with her.
Haha, ok now before you judge me, please consider the context. At the time I wrote this, she and I were not dating, we were fighting all the time and we hated each others guts. I was communicating to my friends how I felt about her and never intended for her to read it months later. So I discontinued my blog, angry at myself and angry at blogging.
But this raises an interesting question: "How has technology and the digitisation of information changed our culture and sense of truth?"
Digital vs Analogue? Because I had recorded my feelings in my blog not only were my friends able to access my personal accounts but so was the rest of the "connected" world. Had I written my entries into a journal it is unlikely she would ever have read those comments. Over time the journal would have been stored away or even discarded and forgotten. In its digital form it was preserved and she was able to access it. The worst thing is on screen it appears fresh as if I had written it yesterday. Had she opened the dusty journal years from now yellowed with age and smelling of mothballs she might have laughed at what I thought way back when. Instead she criticized me for saying those things. I tried to explain that at the time I didn't understand her like I did now and I didn't feel like that anymore, but my pleas fell on deaf ears.
What I want to consider is the effect of technology on our lives in this regard. Without Photography and Video Recording technology, could a widow move on easier without having to see the face of her husband regularly? That entry of mine was obsolete and irrelevant and I wish it had been erased or forgotten, but it was preserved in all its digital glory. "Digital" opens up many possibilities but it also has its side-effects. "Digital" allows us to store unbelievable amounts of information but it doesn't determine the value or relevancy of that information. Librarians have a good sense of what books are worth storing in their libraries. Print publishing also requires more effort than writing in ones diary about "the cute boy at school". I understand that digital gives those without a voice a forum to be heard, but without barriers and "gatekeepers" there will be incomprehensible amounts of irrelevant information.
Consider the idea that people and artefacts are supposed to disappear and be forgotten in time. Isn't that the natural order of things? Should we continue to record everything until the end of time especially when there is so much unecessary information. What will determine what is important and what is not? Human memory is not perfect and in some cases it works to our benefit. With everything so neatly archived how will we remember what is important? How will we determine what is valuable? How will a nation ever consolidate a national identity?
"Digital" allows for society to be easily recorded and regulated up to the point where you have to apply for dispensation from a council before you can cut down that annoying tree in your back yard. "Digital" has made administration and regulation much easier. Our existence is now documented in hard drives in offices you will never see; birth records; ird numbers; criminal convictions; debt; marriage; liscences and permits. Does that information accurately describe who you are? Will your interviewer judge you based on your sunny disposition or the One's and Zero's on his screen? Will the next guy get the job because he knew how to manipulate the One's and Zero's?
I guess I'm starting to wander with this now (as I tend to do) but I wanna bring it back to the beginning. That blog entry, that bunch of One's and Zero's was more representative of me than the real thing. That "digital" testimonial seemed to hold more "truth value" than my word. What does this tell you about the effect of "Digital" on our culture and our sense of truth?
[Of course I believe that digital information, U.S. government, and the media, are all regulated and mediated by the "la-li-lu-le-lo" otherwise known as The Patriots (U.S. contingent of The Philosophers). But everyone is entitled to believe what they will]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Patriots
maybe this post is too long?
Well I'm of to work now, replies criticism are welcome.
Caleb =)
(hehe, see Kevin, some people laugh in the face of anonymity)
So I might possibly be the last person in class to post their first blog but I'm not very good at it and haven't had very good experience with it in the past.
Why haven't I had good experience with blogging you might ask? It's an interesting story. At the beginning of this year I was persuaded by a friend to begin my very own Weblog. At first I was hesitant because I had no reason to have a weblog but she convinced me it would be a good hub for my friends to check into and see what was going on in my life when they were too busy to see me. I considered this and in February I started one.
Things went well at first. I posted the happenings of my life and my friends left me comments and the like. It all went wrong when later in the year before mid-year break I had started dating this girl I was interested in. Things were fine until unexpectedly she ended things and we haven't been on speaking terms since. Later I found out she had read my blog and there was an entry that referred to her as an "Ice Queen" and someone who lacked compassion that most human beings were capable of and that I was glad I wasn't friends with her.
Haha, ok now before you judge me, please consider the context. At the time I wrote this, she and I were not dating, we were fighting all the time and we hated each others guts. I was communicating to my friends how I felt about her and never intended for her to read it months later. So I discontinued my blog, angry at myself and angry at blogging.
But this raises an interesting question: "How has technology and the digitisation of information changed our culture and sense of truth?"
Digital vs Analogue? Because I had recorded my feelings in my blog not only were my friends able to access my personal accounts but so was the rest of the "connected" world. Had I written my entries into a journal it is unlikely she would ever have read those comments. Over time the journal would have been stored away or even discarded and forgotten. In its digital form it was preserved and she was able to access it. The worst thing is on screen it appears fresh as if I had written it yesterday. Had she opened the dusty journal years from now yellowed with age and smelling of mothballs she might have laughed at what I thought way back when. Instead she criticized me for saying those things. I tried to explain that at the time I didn't understand her like I did now and I didn't feel like that anymore, but my pleas fell on deaf ears.
What I want to consider is the effect of technology on our lives in this regard. Without Photography and Video Recording technology, could a widow move on easier without having to see the face of her husband regularly? That entry of mine was obsolete and irrelevant and I wish it had been erased or forgotten, but it was preserved in all its digital glory. "Digital" opens up many possibilities but it also has its side-effects. "Digital" allows us to store unbelievable amounts of information but it doesn't determine the value or relevancy of that information. Librarians have a good sense of what books are worth storing in their libraries. Print publishing also requires more effort than writing in ones diary about "the cute boy at school". I understand that digital gives those without a voice a forum to be heard, but without barriers and "gatekeepers" there will be incomprehensible amounts of irrelevant information.
Consider the idea that people and artefacts are supposed to disappear and be forgotten in time. Isn't that the natural order of things? Should we continue to record everything until the end of time especially when there is so much unecessary information. What will determine what is important and what is not? Human memory is not perfect and in some cases it works to our benefit. With everything so neatly archived how will we remember what is important? How will we determine what is valuable? How will a nation ever consolidate a national identity?
"Digital" allows for society to be easily recorded and regulated up to the point where you have to apply for dispensation from a council before you can cut down that annoying tree in your back yard. "Digital" has made administration and regulation much easier. Our existence is now documented in hard drives in offices you will never see; birth records; ird numbers; criminal convictions; debt; marriage; liscences and permits. Does that information accurately describe who you are? Will your interviewer judge you based on your sunny disposition or the One's and Zero's on his screen? Will the next guy get the job because he knew how to manipulate the One's and Zero's?
I guess I'm starting to wander with this now (as I tend to do) but I wanna bring it back to the beginning. That blog entry, that bunch of One's and Zero's was more representative of me than the real thing. That "digital" testimonial seemed to hold more "truth value" than my word. What does this tell you about the effect of "Digital" on our culture and our sense of truth?
[Of course I believe that digital information, U.S. government, and the media, are all regulated and mediated by the "la-li-lu-le-lo" otherwise known as The Patriots (U.S. contingent of The Philosophers). But everyone is entitled to believe what they will]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Patriots
maybe this post is too long?
Well I'm of to work now, replies criticism are welcome.
Caleb =)
(hehe, see Kevin, some people laugh in the face of anonymity)
posted by Anonymous at 3:13 pm
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