before Facebook?

[ST]

Hi Skyline

Hey - that was my Gibson ES posting. WooHoo!

Yeah, I got it.

 

[ST]

Source: Facebook

[Caleb]

Great pic! 

[Gordo in OZ]

FB let me re-unite with all my friends from high school in the late 1960's. We are now scattered around the world but we all message, chat and video chat - its great. There have even been Australia / Canada jam sessions.

[prof_stack]

I use FB to reconnect with friends from the 70's and early 80's, plus family members.  Sharing photos of family gatherings is important to many of the family members.  Taking pictures of food we're eating is trite nonsense, but I do it anyway!   

[Danny]

Setting aside how one might view the possibility of being able to change the future, a focus on the present is what allows me to actually live the moment instead of being preoccupied with things long gone or that may never happen.

In person, I'm extremely optimistic. The absence of hope is despair.

I just came back from a couple of weeks in countries where English was the second or third or fourth language. I had a lot of conversations that on the surface would have appeared trivial or pointless. It was a different medium speaking through a language (technology) barrier. But what I got from the small talk was a genuine desire to connect, to express interest and concern, to share and understand something.  And I got and gave a lot more than a transcript would reveal.

 
      First of all you state things very clearly, with reason and experience apparently aiding your view. After I came back from Russia my view of our living and material expectations changed drastically. I made a decision to visit a third word country every year after that to keep my view  of people, things, and life in North America in perspective. Interaction with different cultures and people who struggle to have food, clean water, heat, proper clothing etc. makes FaceBook a very trivial issue. As well as many other things.
      I'm not trying to come down on anyone, I just know that I lost the clarity gained from traveling and interacting with people from other countries. It's been over three years since I went to New Zealand and Figi. We spent almost all of three weeks with the locals, which is much different from the resorts in Figi.

    Anyway it's time for me to travel again. As far as F.B. it's most valuable asset for me is our secret Family group, which links a very large family with news we all would have to wait months or even years to hear. Plus my own children and friends keep in touch there. One of my twin daughters made the announcement of her engagement on FB yesterday, with pictures. It let a few hundred people who know and care for her about the good news. Myself included, for that I appreciate FB.

                       Too long, but I haven't posted much in awhile

[broKen]

I just came back from a couple of weeks in countries where English was the second or third or fourth language. I had a lot of conversations that on the surface would have appeared trivial or pointless. It was a different medium speaking through a language (technology) barrier. But what I got from the small talk was a genuine desire to connect, to express interest and concern, to share and understand something.  And I got and gave a lot more than a transcript would reveal.

Hi ST, I missed this statement,  thanks to Danny for the opportunity to read it.
I would agree and add that we were made for relationships and speech (words) is what that's all about. I've said I would rather go blind than lose the ability to communicate. It sets us apart

[George]

Hi ST, I missed this statement,  thanks to Danny for the opportunity to read it.
I would agree and add that we were made for relationships and speech (words) is what that's all about. I've said I would rather go blind than lose the ability to communicate. It sets us apart

Reminds me a lot of my trips to SouthEast Asia during the Vietnam conflict.  Communication was very difficult, but I was absolutely fascinated with learning about the culture in the countries I visited during my travels.  People all over the world are generally more welcoming than believed to be these days.  I would not trade those experiences for anything.  Not sure it would be safe to visit some of those places again though...

[ST]

 
      First of all you state things very clearly, with reason and experience apparently aiding your view. After I came back from Russia my view of our living and material expectations changed drastically. I made a decision to visit a third word country every year after that to keep my view  of people, things, and life in North America in perspective. Interaction with different cultures and people who struggle to have food, clean water, heat, proper clothing etc. makes FaceBook a very trivial issue. As well as many other things.
      I'm not trying to come down on anyone, I just know that I lost the clarity gained from traveling and interacting with people from other countries. It's been over three years since I went to New Zealand and Figi. We spent almost all of three weeks with the locals, which is much different from the resorts in Figi.

    Anyway it's time for me to travel again. As far as F.B. it's most valuable asset for me is our secret Family group, which links a very large family with news we all would have to wait months or even years to hear. Plus my own children and friends keep in touch there. One of my twin daughters made the announcement of her engagement on FB yesterday, with pictures. It let a few hundred people who know and care for her about the good news. Myself included, for that I appreciate FB.

                       Too long, but I haven't posted much in awhile

Hi Danny,

It's really nice to reconnect. It was just over 7 years ago that we met.  Are we older or wiser or just more grizzled and grey?

Being in transit for 18 hours can be grounding.

Let me ramble for just a bit.

It was a long weekend up here in Canada so there was lots of festivals and music. I was out playing every night, and that meant a lot more face-time with people.

Yesterday I met an acquaintance in a bar where I was playing. The background music was too loud during the break so we hollered at each other, snippets of conversation about our recent travels. I met his new travel companion and I admired how a couple so young in their relationship, spoke so easily, fluidly, about their shared experience.

That same night a young fellow came wandering in with his guitar. I had seen and heard him the night before.  This fellow - just 16 years old had played in the opening act for one of the best-known Blues bands in these here parts.  We chatted very briefly and I got him up on the stage to join us for a set. Wicked guitar player he was; great hands, great chops, and he and I traded looks, nods, smiles and musical phrases throughout the set. We had a great time.  We shook hands and he wandered off into the night.

I'm usually not very talkative when I'm out playing unless I'm the frontman for the band. Then it's part of the schtick to socialize for the band.  This weekend - all three gigs, I was in a support role. But the venues were packed; standing room only, so I table hopped saying hello to folks who had come out.  Snippets of conversation, a slap on the back, a fist bump, a high five, a nod, a wink, a twinkle in the eye; sometimes these were all that could be shared in the cacophony of sound.

Swinging back to the topic: Before Facebook.

Before Facebook, I wouldn't have been able to check in with that acquaintance (traveller plus one), to see more about their trip the next day. And it would have taken much more effort to tell them that I'm happy for them, that they've found each other.  It's a moot point, whether or not I would have followed up with them, or if it would have meant more if it had taken more effort. It was easy, and it was genuine.

Before Facebook, I would have worked the phones or email to let people know where I'd be for those gigs this weekend. This would have taken hours. Doing this with Facebook made it easy. I was done in minutes. The counterpoint is that it has taken time to create a good list of contacts (ugh "friends) on Facebook.

Before Facebook, it would have been a lot more effort to follow up on those quick interactions with people as I worked the room. ("Snippets of conversation, a slap on the back, a fist bump, a high five, a nod, a wink, a twinkle in the eye").  I can do that quickly on Facebook, as many of those had already acknowledged those moments and I could click to respond.

Before Facebook, I would have had to work harder in the moment to collect contact information for that young gunslinger. All I had to do was a couple of clicks the next day to let him know how to reach me. It turns out that his Mother monitors all his Facebook traffic.  She's managing his career pretty tightly from what I can see on his Facebook page. It's a different world and a different conversation.

For all of that, I will probably not spend any time on Facebook until the next flurry of activity around a gig.

[George]

Very Well Put ST!  Great analogies there.   

[SteveGangi]

Myself, a person who is in his early 30s who is also in the IT industry, I often ramble on about what social media and smart phones have done to society. Now, I have a smart phone and to be honest, if it weren't for the fact that my job has me driving all over the tri-state area, I would get rid of this thing. I only really use it for maps (direction and where I can find food on the road.

But to speak on the subject of the thread:

Last week there was a town festival near me. They closed the streets down, the shops were all open, they had Santa on a sleigh riding up and down the streets for photos. The whole 9 yards for a little Christmas village. As I walked, I just looked around. People just stood there on the side walks in groups all looking down, adults and teenagers alike. I saw people walking with their friends and all were looking down on their phones, not even talking to each other (BTW, this is my BIGGEST gripe. If you are moving, you better be looking where you are going. I have often times cnotemplated smacking the devices out of their hands). Either way, Why did these folks come out in the first place if they weren't active participants in enjoying the festival that was planned.

In my house, every morning, my GF wakes up and the first thing she does it take her cell phone into the bathroom with her. It is in her hands at the breakfast table and during dinner. When we go out for a quick smoke, we sit in silence because she is just scrolling away. Every sunday we watch the walking dead. Now, I am not a TV person. I just watch to be part of the conversation at work. But here I am watching this, and I look to my left and right and everyone is just looking at their phones. No one speaks.

I go to hang out with a buddy of mine. I bring my guitar over to jam He just sits on his phone the whole time.

I am sure there is no shortage of stories like these. But here is my theory as to why we like FB and social media ad so on:

We all like to surround ourselves with like minded things and the things we like. Social media allows us make little bubbles that we can fill with only the things we like and deny the things we don't. We can not follow so and so or we can block this group. I never liked this guy in high school so I don't want to know what he is about now. We essentially attempt to make a perfect world for ourselves full of the things we like.

But then something happened. When we aren't on these platforms, we realize we can't control who speaks to us or what they will speak to us about. The TV can say anything and we can only change the channel in hopes of finding something that interests us. Because we have this "perfect world" we created, the real world seems unbearable to some, packed with things they can't block or mute or change. And so back into the phone we go or behind the computer to that website we like so much.

I used to laugh at pictures I saw on the web where people said things like "Anyone going anywhere interesting tonight to look at their phones?". Now, I have to shake my head. It is sad. It is sad that I see my brother can only feed his daughter when an iPad or something is in front of her to distract her. No video playing, the kid won't eat.

And let's not get me started on the friggin selfie.

[ducktrapper]

It's better to be alone than alone together. 

[Mikeymac]

Myself, a person who is in his early 30s who is also in the IT industry, I often ramble on about what social media and smart phones have done to society. Now, I have a smart phone and to be honest, if it weren't for the fact that my job has me driving all over the tri-state area, I would get rid of this thing. I only really use it for maps (direction and where I can find food on the road.

But to speak on the subject of the thread...


And let's not get me started on the friggin selfie.

Steve - excellent, perceptive post.

It also seems that everyone is afraid to be alone or miss something - always checking "what's happening." It is the fear of being irrelevant or forgotten, and therefore of no value. IOW, many people's self-images are a wreck because / if they can't disconnect from what they perceive to be the important activity going on all around them.

I also fear we have convinced ourselves we're only relevant if we know a great deal about what's happening in the world's "news" each day ("news" simply being whatever the media have manufactured and decided to tell us). We don't have any historical perspective - that in previous generations, you didn't know much about anything that happened beyond your own community - or if you did hear about it, it was days, weeks and months later when the "news" finally got to you. And yet no one felt irrelevant because of this - you were living your own life in your own family/neighborhood/community/etc.

That's enough for now...