Hyperconnectivity

It seems like the need to be connected through technology began in earnest in the late 1980's with the fax machine and cell phone. We had one fax at the company I was working for and it was at headquarters; getting a fax was a big deal and reserved for only very urgent and important business. Cell phones were brick-sized status symbols for people that were so important they had to be available all the time. That was followed closely by the advent of email, which has largely replaced the fax, and virtually everyone over 12 years old now owns a cell phone. Most recently, hyperconnectivity has been cemented in place by the advent of instant messages and text messaging.

Increasingly, people seem to be more interested in being connected to others at all times and locations. One of the latest developments that just has me shaking my head is Twitter. I have seen several folks on internet forums lately urging us to all "Follow me on Twitter!".

Twitter is pitched as "a service for friends, family, and co–workers to communicate and stay connected through the exchange of quick, frequent answers to one simple question: What are you doing?"

Why in the hell would anyone subject themselves to potentially relentless inquiries on what they are doing at any given moment? It's hard enough to sit down and focus on a task already. Twitter maintains that these kinds of updates are meaningful to family, friends and colleagues, especially when they are timely... (note the guilt trip if you don't disengage from whoever you are currently with or whatever you are currently doing in order to respond?).

At work, I probably receive somewhere between 70 and 100 emails on an average day. I get copied on a lot of stuff and don't necessarily have to do much about those messages other then absorb them and know that things are going on so I can coordinate the whole mess, but still it's a lot to keep up with. On top of that, I have home email, get private messages occasionally on a few boards, and my cell phone is on all the time. That's plenty connected for me.

I used to have a client and good friend in Anchorage that would call me up to touch base or give me some work direction, and he would often start the conversation with the Twitter Question (Hey - what are you doing?). I would laugh and tell him that I was saving his bacon, translating ancient Chinese poetry, working for his competitors on a sure-fire plot that would inevitably lead to world domination, or some other goofy answer. We would laugh about it, chat about whatever insanity was going on in the city or corporate America, and then get down to business. That kind of reparte takes a little social acumen compared to texting, but it's warm and personal, and I think it's good for mental health, too.

I don't see a Twitter link happening on this site anytime soon. I also think there is a lot to be said for not being available for comment at times. All that said, I promise not to moralize about the continued rending of our social fabric as technology becomes a surrogate for random human interaction and a catalyst for fracturing our social networks into homogenous special interest groups like Twin Cities bicycle riders, heavy metal fans, you "friends" on Facebook, born-again Christians, etc., etc., facilitating disengagement from our local communities and erosion of tolerance for diverse cultures and opinions.

That's it. Be here now, everyone.

And go have coffee with the next person that sends you a text message.