digital friends

Funkytown is going just fine these days thank you very much. Our goal to create better communities through cultural events remains the same. Unfortunately, our competitors—online social networks, to name one—continue to grow stronger.

There was a story in the New York Times this week about a woman who was refusing to attend her college reunion, because Facebook has kept her in touch with many of her classmates. Gone is her need to attend to "see what people are up to" because the lord savior Facebook has come to her rescue and provided nice little updates that appear in a neat way on the internet. Instead of reminiscing about the good times with Jenny on the "sun-dappled lawn" (which sounds fantastic), she can instead see that she took a "What Scooby-Doo Character Are You" quiz and came out Daphne (OMG that is so Jenny!).

A better title for the article would have been: Who needs physical human beings when you can "reunite" (is that the right word for checking peoples' status updates while waiting for another website to load up?) with friends online.

Of course this has nothing to do with college reunions. It is the thinking behind it—replacing an event with an online subsitutue just so you can save time—that Funkytown is looking to cut down on.

The good fight continues on.

poetics

the sounds

what do i hear
as i ride my bike along?
the sounds of life
and birds singing a song.

what do you hear
sitting in traffic all day?
the roar of an engine
and time slipping away.

privacy?

It has only recently occurred to me what an objective feeling "privacy" is.

In speaking with co-funkytown team members over the last week or so, I realized that we have undergown a monumental shift in how we view our privacy. Who we trust has been replaced with what we trust.

In Korea, as well (this is a guess) as in other places of the world, people have become less likely to talk to others in their community. What used to be both tradition and necessity—neighbors had to interact for agricultural and gastronomical reasons—is now vanishing from our physical world, and being replaced by a virtual world accessible by anybody with a tiny machine.

Over the past few weeks, there has been discussions around the perceived "privacy" of social networking giant Facebook. It seems that some facebookers are upset over their photos being shared, potential employers checking their profile, or their own "friends" initating a chat. "Really" I ask, "what the hell were you expecting?" How can you think about privacy after you voluntarily submit an entire life worth of information to a random server in some temperature-controlled room? Is it because Facebook is such a big and well-respected organization? How counter-intuitive is that?

Its not just social networking either. Its everything from shopping online to registering for a Tesco membership. We see those little checkmark icons that supposedly mean our info is safe and proceed onward.

At the same time, we (as a collective) have become isolated from one-another. Most walk around with iPod headphones on, not having to talk to anybody, until they are at their destination where they know the people around them, thus making it okay for interaction to occur. In a better metaphor, we have moved from the front porch to the back patio.

Of course, the scenarios above do not apply to everybody; nor am I not suggesting that we stop and say hi to every person we pass on the street (although you can try it). It just seems that our sense of community and privacy has been redirected to an array of machines (from the computer to industrial food) that have somehow gained our trust. We cheer the creation of "online communities" but don't bat an eyelash at the destruction of our actual communities. Seems backwards.

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A good thing about this life: the scenario of listening to a song you have heard before, but enjoying it on a higher level. Is there a name for this phenomenon? Regardless, this happened to me today with Modern Romance by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs (the video doesn't include the whole song, but the album is available at your local music retailer).

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I used a semi-colon above in memory of Kurt Vonnegut.

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Random thought: why have we let the polaroid camera die?

newspapers and communities

As I sit here thinking about how we can save the newspaper industry, I can't help think of our connected communities project. At one point in time, newspapers were the thread that held communities together—they were an institution, and the loudest voice of the people. Now they are in serious trouble and it makes me sad.

What's happening to us? Why do most of us spend hours in front of an electronic box just to race home and stare at another (sometimes the same) electronic box? Isn't that madness? Don't people want to talk to others (not "chat") or share with others (not "facebook") or go on dates (not match.com) or spend time with their friends/family (not "skype")? We can't turn everything into a computerized world, can we? Hell, even playing cards has moved online. When I was younger, I used to play cards with my grandparents and great aunt, listening to stories about them playing cards with friends, and waiting for the day when I could follow suit (pun!). Now it appears that I'll have to get myself a credit card and a account number to do so. Sounds, um, great?

We need to come together. Our team has proposed the installment of a town social coordinator. To be honest, it started as somewhat of a jokey idea, but the more I think of it, the more it makes sense. If towns hosted regular events (and here's the catch, they need to support the local economy as much as possible) where friends and family and neighbors and strangers could gather, wouldn't that help things? Could it possibly not?

On Friday night, I attended a large caleidh. You should have been there: young folks and old folks, Scots and non-Scots, came together to do coordinated dances, eat delicious stovies, and spend time with each other (all while supporting a good cause). It was completely amazing, and no amount of online dancing (do they have that?) could ever replace it.

These are the types of things that will bring us together, but they are too few and far between. The social coordinator is going to have tons of work to do.

PS: We can't let newspapers die. Sitting at a table with a cup of coffee and the newspaper is morning bliss, and a practice that I have followed since I was just a teen. If you are a fan, write to your favorite newspaper and tell them to charge for online content. Why should good journalism be free?

PPS: Is it silly to write a blog post on my computer about how we need to save newspapers and stop people from spending too much time on computers/tv? I think so.

legos

Our group is called funkytown.

This is pretty much the best video I have ever seen.

poetics

fools in traffic

look at those fools
look at them over there
sitting in traffic
so empty of cheer

and look at us
gliding right past
who knew that the bike
could be so fast

connected communities

The UK is looking to fund projects that are aimed at connecting communities, which means that is what our projects are centered around. Half of team 2108 is back to bring communities together.

Anyways, a few things I have read/seen over the past few weeks have given me some ideas on how to achieve this goal:

1. From reading The Omnivores Dilemma by Michael Pollan, I am a believer that establishing local farms like Joel Salatin's Polyface Farms around the world would do massive good. Here's a taste of what would happen: local people would be supporting their neighbors, everybody starts eating healthier, a decrease in fossil fuels being used, people start to understand where their food comes from, and more humane treatment of animals.

2. A gas tax. Just read Thomas Friedman's NYT article.

3. I don't have a link for this one, but Bill Maher, the host of Real Time with Bill Maher, had a great rant the other night. He basically used the Snuggie as an example of the crap that Americans are spending their money on. What if we stop buying things and start making and doing things? It's not a new concept, but it would help. Making things localizes markets. Doing things can't be outsourced. Sure it's vague, but, um, so what?