aqua fortis

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

A Netizen's Lament

I've got a serious problem.

Yeah, Web 2.0, I'm talking to you. We've had a good thing going for a little while now. The past couple of years have been pretty great. I got to know you on more than a superficial level, and it was a whirlwind courtship. I took your Facebook movie quizzes. I commented on your Flickr photos and explored your many Wikis, cruised the ins and outs of your group sites and dutifully threw myself into your blogosphere.

Oh, you helped me get connected in ways I never imagined. And you and me--we were tight. We had our trysts daily, sometimes multiple times a day.

And then, Web 2.0, you started to wear me out. It was just all too much. I think, Web 2.0, that things are getting a little too deep--or maybe not deep enough at the same time. I don't know. Maybe it's just me. But your apps are feeling a little stale. Your Twitter has its delightful moments, but your Ning is a little bit out of control. I can't even tell you how many logins and passwords I've amassed because of you, how many of your RSS feeds are languishing unread. Some days I can't even bear to look at you.

Do we need a break, Web 2.0? Do you really need to know my status every moment of every day? I mean, you brought so many people together; but instead of feeling integrated, I feel more and more fragmented. I just don't know what to do. Yet I can't seem to wean myself off of you entirely. I'm dependent on you. I'll admit it. Without you, a huge part of my life would be missing. You've changed me and everyone else around me.

The question now is: How will YOU change?

5 comments:

tanita✿davis said...

...yep.
I keep thinking I'm going to completely cut OFF my Facebook, but then, my niece and little brother are on, and so I can at least keep chatting with them. But really: it's over with the flinging sheep, and SO over with the little Green Patch crap. (And what the hell was that about, anyway? Guilt by Garden? And it's not even REAL!? Do I not have enough actual angst?!)

I've been thinking about my web presence with the idea that it's like a tree that occasionally needs to be seriously pruned. I will have to figure out something to cut once my website gets done. And I think it will be Facebook...except all the PR people say not to do that. Sigh. Maybe GoodReads? No... that's book oriented... One of several blogs? Maybe take down the story one, since we're no longer writing Friday tales ... Sigh. At least the utterly loathed MySpace is already gone.

David T. Macknet said...

You must ask: Why? Why use Facebook, Twitter, etc.? Does it really connect you with people? Or does it merely give you the illusion of connectedness? If you can't tell the difference between it and a robot, are you connected to a human?

Sarah Stevenson said...

Well, if it passes the Turing test...
;)

David T. Macknet said...

If it passes the Turing test, it's good enough to fool you, yes. But ... the Turing test just asks whether it's good enough to fool you.

So: if you can't tell the difference, you're saying that talking to people on facebook is as fulfilling as talking to a machine. Hmm.

Anonymous said...

Ha ha ha ha ha! You are too funny.