What does it all mean?
I laughed out loud the moment I saw the very first iteration of Carla’s idea for the Web Directions T Shirt. It always appeals to my sense of humour to reflect on those painful moments of misunderstanding you have to go through if you are going to participate in that thing we call society. Having said that, I hate it so much when those moments are actually happening and I am a protagonist!
The more I looked at this little vignette though, the more I realised that beneath its gentle humour was a deeper challenge: how do we move between online and offline life? I remember the first time I met someone who was a complete stranger who spoke to me about having read this blog. Even though I never write anything here that I consider to be in any way personal, this conversation still gave me pause because I am certain there is something of my essence on this page, put here intentionally by me, and this stranger had read it. Yes, a little like those apocryphal people who thought photos stole a piece of their soul. But to complicate matters, I had taken the photo myself. How would this fold back into what I choose to put here?
And while the death of email has been long predicted, I think it’s going to be around for a while, especially for us oldies. So that uncomfortable silence, as you realise that the bird cares little for you or your concerns, is going to be with us for a long time.
Oh, and, on a related note, here is our first remix – from Gary Barber.
In case you missed yesterday’s news, the original cloud vs bird t shirt is available here.
Great reading, every weekend.
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