Sunday, October 3, 2010

THERE'S A BIG NEW MOVIE IN TOWN

The new movie in town, "The Social Network," probes this thing called Facebook. This half-billion-user Internet phenomenon that strikes people in sharply different ways. Time wasted on the trivial! Time invested in relationships past, present and future! Time that can be saddled like a stallion leading a herd to where you'd like to take it!

All three takes are true. What's not true yet is any of the prognoses. The doctor known as History has not yet tested this virus. We know its power and capacity to spread is enormous, and we know it's now in 24/7 motion. What we don't know is where it's taking us. Like the Native Americans couldn't possibly have known what was ahead as they watched those strange new Spanish Conquistadors and English Puritans dock their ships, and start spreading farther every day.

Emerson liked to say: "You cannot do a kindness too soon, for you never know how soon it will be too late." Right now, there is a wave of kindness spreading throughout us half-billion users. Re-uniting with dear friends and relatives and co-workers and students that you thought were never again to be a part of your life. Also, trawling the globe where you are netting some remarkable new faces and voices and thoughts.

On the other hand....

Looking into this exponentially expanding digital world must be a little like when God looked down on Eden. Such a grand idea. Such astonishing possibilities. Such an ideal Garden. I mean, just think of what could and should have been!

Who might be the snake in this latest Genesis? Plenty of oily candidates. Like the venomous haters who can now infect tens of millions with the click of their Send button. Like the inarticulate who can find some zany story or video to do their silly talking with the click of their Share button. And especially all those pent-up neuroses and psychoses that could never before seep out of their psyches to inundate the innocent.

So then is Facebook pretty much just like previous good/bad communication revolutions? The alphabet? The printing press? Radio and television? It's comforting to convince yourself that it is. To relax into the presumption that it's simply more-of-the-same. But here, my virtual-friends, here's the undeniable difference: Each of those previous revolutions were owned and operated by someone. Somewhere.

This revolution is owned by us. Everywhere. A good prognosticator (Spanish philosopher Ortega y Gasset) wrote an extraordinary little book in 1931: "The Revolt of the Masses." The year I was born. Now 2010 may be the year he was right!



3 comments:

  1. The whole Facebook thing is scary. Teen suicides, a whole generation spending hours on end "communicating". There is now a movement or program starting for the purpose of fighting the urge to sit at the computer and Facebook. It's like being addicted to nicotine I guess.

    Personally, I haven't the time to help make Zuckerberg any richer. I have long wanted to initiate a website, which I will probably do sometime for a specific reason, i.e., one way communicating. Re-unions are OK but think, we cannot go back! Jack, you and I have shared a few memories of Austin and our schools but how long could we talk about those memories at one sitting?

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  2. Jerry,

    You're right, we can't simply remember what was. However. being mostly close to home, I have the time to explore Facebook. My experience is not with the folks who use it simply for silly banter. I use it to get into some serious political and religious dialogs with folks from over 14 countries. The old teacher in me finds it stimulating

    Among them are about a dozen great guys like you from my past who I might never otherwise be able to stay in touch with.

    But your suspicions of Facebook are hardly yours alone. Most of my friends here would probably agree with you...

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  3. Jack, my other concern is that too many people, partly an unwelcome group, are also viewing. But I understand your usage.

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