I wonder....

I wonder what all of these tweets, statuses, blog posts, "likes", trends, tumblrs, 4square check-ins, follows, re-tweets, memes, hits, @mentions, views, etc are going to mean to us when we are all too old to compute. I wonder what will come to mind when we look back on our digital lives. It's an odd thing to think about. So many of us are getting more and more caught up in the digital realm these days. We are, in fact, the digital generation. There's a lot of cool things about that but there are just as many things, if not more, that are completely pointless and yet we (myself included) take part in them anyway.

I wonder what it is deep down inside of us that makes us continue to use all of these digital outlets so obsessively. Is it the false sense of instant gratification we get? The feeling that we are saying or "doing" things online that other people actually care about? I don't even have a clear answer in regards to my own online behavior. Of course I blog and tweet because I expect other people to want to read what I have to say. At the same time however, I always think in the back of my mind that nobody really cares all too much because at the end of the day I don't really care all too much about other people's online tidbits either since the majority of ramblings and updates are just more of the same. They come and they go. Is this just me? I don't think so. I also blog and tweet because I just flat out enjoy it. We blog, we tweet, we rant, we update this and that, etc. etc. etc. but the average-every-day-you-&-me person isn't all that exciting is he/she? So why do we do it? Why do I care? Why? I don't know. Maybe I should know. I just like to put my brain in a knot sometimes over things not normally considered. I'm an internet junkie. I enjoy internet culture as much as the next person. I might not get into it as much as the next person but I do enjoy it. I'm just intrigued by the reasons why. Perhaps I will come back to this down the road but for now it was a fleeting thought that I had to get out.

"Who To Follow": Will it lead Twitter down the same dark and failed path as Facebook?

I logged into Twitter a few minutes ago and noticed a new feature called "who to follow" and I found myself asking "why?!".  For those who don't know, I have been less and less interested in Facebook for quite some time and I have been debating deleting my account over the past few months. I am a huge believer that Twitter, when used correctly, can be an amazing tool for networking, learning, and finding a plethora of valuable information you may have otherwise overlooked. On the contrary, I think Facebook is a medium for college students (and now, people much younger and much older) to take part in social "networking" activities that don't hold much value at all. Yes, of course it is a great way to keep in contact with people, which is the reason I continue to keep my account, but a majority of the rest of Facebook just seems pointless to me ("Likeing" everything, fan groups for absolutely everything, status rants, having 500+ "friends") it's just too much.

Two specific things I have never liked about Facebook are the "people you may know" and "recommended pages" features. I have always thought it was a joke to have hundreds and hundreds of friends on a friends list when a fraction of them are actually valuable relationships.  To be recommended more people and things to add just because they are a friend-of-a-friend-of-a-friend who likes the same thing as another friend who knows you is just annoying. If you don't know someone well enough or like them enough to add them in the first place then why add them at all? This brings me to my point with Twitter's new addition. It does the exact same thing as mentioned above. It pulls information from the people you already follow, checks into who else follows them and suggests you follow the third party because you might get along.  I don't know... maybe this posting makes no sense and has no people who agree. I just think it's an unnecessary feature.  Twitter has been fine from the start; simple, clean, easy to use, etc. The "find people" feature on Twitter worked and still works for looking up new people to follow, and it actually means you have to know a name to search for in the first place. I don't have an urge to follow these suggestions whether I recognize them or not. There's likely a reason why I haven't searched them out on my own. Long story short, I see what Twitter is trying to do but I hope they know what they are really doing. We don't need another Facebook. I welcome any thoughts anyone has, I am really interested to see where this takes the brand and who knows, maybe my opinion will change.

Etienne de Crecy

I'm a big sucker for live set ups and light shows, especially if they are cutting edge and unique. My friend just told me about this band and I thought this video was pretty awesome. This cube light show is probably one of the better stage set ups I have seen since Daft Punk's Alive 2007 world tour (see below).

Art Robots

I could see myself spending a lot of time with these things. It is interesting to see how advanced technology is becoming and how we can use it in so many uncommon ways that might not come to mind at first.

E.T. Chrome home

Google recently released their Internet browser Google Chrome and I must say, I am definitely a fan. I have never been one of those people who hated Internet Explorer, I honestly rarely had issues with it. I have also never been a huge fan of Fire Fox like most people. If I had to choose a favorite browser it would probably be Safari but I don't have my own Mac yet so that doesn't really apply too well. I decided to give Chrome a shot the other day and I am already really impressed. It is clean, fast, and up-to-date with competitors. When you first open the browser it shows your most viewed websites a well as recently visited favorites among other things. It makes browsing the web quick and easy and more enjoyable than I thought it could be. I have only been using it for a few days now but I have not had any issues whereas Internet Explorer has decided to freeze or close out on a regular basis for me now. Give Chrome a try, it's free and downloads really fast from the Google homepage.