On the internet and superegoes

Now that we're about to have another addition to our family, I look back to this tribute http://internetjaywalking.blogspot.com/2008/09/her-name-was-katherine.html that I wrote about a member of the family we lost a decade and a half ago. It's possibly the only detailed record of her life anywhere on the internet

They say that the internet has given birth to superegos, a generation of regular people who think too highly of their own importance. In a way that's true. I think we have statistics to prove this. The internet has given more power to the individual in a way that no other medium ever has. It is the ultimate "democratizer" where the loudness of your voice isn't always proportional to the amount of money in your wallet, the number of celebrities that you know or which cabinet positions your parents or uncles hold. If you have something to say and people wanna hear it, they will find you.

The internet also has become a record keeper of sorts, a place where you leave your, more or less, permanent imprint wittingly or unwittingly. In the words of someone who now lives his life as an internet demotivator : “don’t be an internet meme cos you’ll live on forever in a way that you probably don’t want to.”

The footprint in life that one leaves behind is so much bigger now. Anyone who passes away now, leaves a facebook profile, possibly a blog, an online photography album, a resume of accomplishments, a compilation of poems, photos, personal musings of various depth which anyone from the present or from the future would be able to find by googling his or her name

In contrast, anyone who passed away before internet became mainstream, unless they became popular for some reason or they made a significant contribution to a certain group, left very little to no trace outside the photoalbums and memories of their immediate friends and family. Google their names and it’s almost as if they never existed. 

The internet is a place where one's popularity is not commensurate to the availability of public information on him/her. A public filing system that makes sure that each individual can be picked from from a sea of nameless faces, put under the magnifying glass and be appreciated (or scorned?) as individuals. Under the magnifying glass of the internet, each individual has a voice which can be heard and that voice doesn’t have to die with him. If that does make him feel more important than his pre-internet counterparts, I can’t say that I blame him.

Kathy... you’ll find her on the internet, if you search hard enough.

Rumminations on Blogging

I’ve neglected blogging for almost a year now. I feel like I’ve become a shallower person as a result.  A friend asked me once for my opinion regarding a suitor of hers. The first question I asked her was: “does he have a blog?” As soon as she said no, I said that he was not worth her time.

I judged a lot of people that way.  The people whom I found interesting were usually those who wanted to keep concrete records of their opinions, convictions or feelings, whether that be through writing, art or even video/audio recordings.

I had a certain respect for people who felt that their thoughts or opinions were significant enough for them to be ascribed some sort of permanence.  The human mind is always in a state of flux. Thoughts are generated, morphed and oftentimes lost. Thoughts are so fundamental to a person’s existence that losing them forever almost seems like a sin. And there’s a finalizing quality to writing in that when you write down a thought or an opinion, it becomes, in a way, final. It acquires a definite and tangible form and structure and ceases to be just a jumble of spontaneous thought bubbles that pop in and out of existence.  It becomes like a photograph, only not of one’s face but of one’s mind

I’ve been re-reading a lot of my past entries. When you revisit memories they’re usually not the same as when you first experienced them. Even the strongest of feelings subside eventually and with them, go the thoughts that they produced.  It’s nice to read your thoughts at the time that they were conceived, thoughts that may otherwise have been forgotten. It’s nice to know what your convictions were or if you had any. And it’s nice to know if you still feel as strongly about them

I feel like I have changed a lot the past few months. Whether for the better of for the worse is a matter of perspective. I’ve modified some goals. I'm not as profit oriented anymore
I got into photography, I went dating, socializing, clubbing(WTH?!), expanded my group of friends, acquired a new appreciation for fireworks. I also experienced betrayal, jealousy, I almost got into a fight, felt the highs of passion and the lows of inadequacy -Normal things for most normal people but keep in mind that I used to spend months not interacting with a single person.

Such a drastic change in lifestyle would probably lead to an equally drastic change in personality. But I take comfort in the fact that even if I change or even if I lose half of my brain mass due to intellectual inactivity, I’ll have a record of who I was.

I write for a variety of reasons. But most significant of all, I write for the same reason that people erect monuments to fallen heroes, or for the same reason that people seemingly waste large areas of land to preserve historical structures - to create a permanent imprint of that which is fleeting, time

My Bloggy Award

My blog just got a review at the bloggy award and I got a decent rating. All I need to do is make fun of a few random people's faces and I'm on my way to internet superstardom.  ... To the reviewer, thank you thank you thank you even if I'm not exactly your cup of tea :)
Most of the points that can be addressed will be addressed. I've been too lazy to fix the broken links and the problems in my layout but I'll do that soon. I do blabber about  nonsensically and rather lengthily sometimes. It can't be helped though. It is a sickness for which a cure is yet to be found

"If you want controversy then visit the Infidel’s blog. There’s nothing like a debate-loving atheist to write posts that attract flamers. Although the author does love to post his insights on the subject of God or the absence of God there are other posts to be found of a different topic. What you’ll notice though is that almost all his posts reflect strong opinions. Yes this is one opinionated blog so that it draws people to comment even in his “lighter posts”.Visual Aesthetics - 7
Too black and gray. The color scheme wouldn’t have been so bad if the font-size weren’t so small. The color scheme, font-size, and inconsistent font styles isn’t really pleasing to the eye nor user-friendly. Of course I adjusted the font-size but it still didn’t make the blog look good. The header also needs improvement though it does reflect the author’s interests (atheism and digicams).
User Friendliness - 7
Again the fonts really need some working on. The categories are few but pretty much sums up what you can find in the blog. It is also reflective of what’s important to the author. The Archives link doesn’t work and simply brings you back to the main page. At least it has a link to the Homepage when you go to static pages but the downside is that the link sometimes leads to a 404 page.
Reading Enjoyment - 7

Too much heavy stuff. If you want to discuss ideas though and like to feel intellectual this would be a blog to visit since a lot the visitors along with the author claim to be real intellectuals. The posts also run very long so that although I personally don’t mind reading posts with substance the posts sometimes do tend to drag. This blog needs a little variation in post length.
Useful Info - 8
The author like to discuss things and go on and on about issues and ideas. If you visit this blog you’ll likely read information regarding atheism, current events, and a semblance of economics and entrepreneurship.
Overall Experience - 7

This blog does have substance but is too opinionated and to heavy for my taste. The posts are just plain too lengthy and a lot of them drag. Sometimes you don’t have to be too wordy to present our ideas. A few words read by more people can be more effective than a plethora of words that just select few will read."