MindThe Beginner

It has been more than six months since my last blogpost. I could give you all kinds of reasons for that, but simply: I didn’t feel that there was something worth while to write about. Lately however, I’ve come to notice a few small cracks in the world of blogging, social media and bloggers who were doing well a few years ago.

Bitcoins

First off, there is a bitcoincraze going on, or at least, a blogger who seems to have fallen from grace has been trying to give bitcoins a second impulse. I wonder however if he realises that bitcoins have already come and gone. People built dedicated computers to mine bitcoins, but these days it’s so hard to mine coins that few attempt to do so. The electrical bill is simply higher than the potential revenue.

So yeah, I’ve read about bitcoins, explored the concept and had a few interesting talks about it on irc, but to me it’s already old news. And then this ex-blogger comes around claiming it’s new and hot. Sorry, but I don’t get it.

However, if you feel that bitcoins are fantastic, and would like to share with me, be my guest: 1Eg4DsqdYStdVYsVRfvSms64P8sYcBsmes

So far I have received 0.00201 bc :)

Google Fiber

Another one of those developments is Google Fiber. You might think that this is a good thing. (Google Fiber is extremely high speed Internet) But do you actually use every last bit of bandwith at the moment? When watching youtube movies, chatting on irc, Facebooking of what have you, there is hardly any traffic. Only when downloading movies is there a benefit to be had. And for most of us, this is simply where our computer-use ends. The computer is a glorified typewriter that allows you to shamelessly denounce every last bit of privacy and share your entire existence.

Take Google glass for instance, which was promoted a few months ago. Why would you want to have other people look in with everything you are doing? Isn’t it bad enough that people send tweets about “taking a shower now”, we need to be there to enjoy the visual experience of the shower as well? (Although I don’t know if the Google Glass actually is waterproof) Thank you, but I’ll pass.

Location Independence

It has been claimed dead. Yes, some delusional folks think it’s dead. I don’t believe them. When looking around, I don’t see LIP’s everywhere working via their laptop and enjoying life. I still see a lot of people going through the motions of the rat race. Hardly if ever do you actually meet an LIP in person. When looking online it seems they are everywhere. But given the population of the western world, not even 0.01 percent is location independent. And that might be an optimistic estimate.

People continue to create awesome information products, publish new ebooks and earn a nice income from it. Others are building affiliate sites, and it’s all still working. Just a few minutes ago I got a newsletter from Glenn talking about a membership site that grossed 100k in it’s first day! Yes, that is optimistic, but if such figures are still to be had out there then smaller businesses are quite viable. The minimalist business is certainly not dead. It’s continuously evolving, but for those who are still riding this wave there is more than enough work left.

Twitter

Four years ago, twitter was an upcoming technology and the 2008 Olympics were good for roughly ten million tweets over the entire event. During the 200 meter sprint last Thursday, some 80.000 tweets a minute were sent and over 150 million tweets were sent. How’s that for a dying technology.

Although I have not been using twitter for a long time and don’t feel the need to breathe new life into my account I do not feel that twitter is so 2008. My reasons for not using it is the same as with Facebook. It takes to much time and to me personally, it does not add value to my lie. The only three communication pathways I’m using on the web at the moment are e-mail (newsletter), Google+ and good old irc (Here’s to you #RU!).

Naturally, there are more ways to get in touch with people, but do you really need all that? Sometimes it’s better to be unavailable.

There is an app for that

The more apps there are out there, the less I feel the need to actually use them. It seems to me that people are glued to their phones these days. From my home to the university it’s a fifteen minute bike ride through a forest. Yes, a forest. Trees, birds, the occasional deer. You can see a lot there, hear a lot and even smell things. But most don’t notice, being completely plugged in and forgoing the sights and sounds of the real world.

It’s a damn shame. The world is a beautiful place, don’t waste your time on the web when it’s not needed.

I’m one to talk about this, having (well, almost, I’m waiting for my last grade) a bachelor’s in information science and using a computer every single day for hours on end. But my other hobbies include angling and rock climbing. No electronics involved whatsoever. You can’t get much closer to the real world than holding a perch in your hand and clinging to a rockface.

Between two worlds

I feel I’m on the boundary between two worlds. The completely digital, where people are plugged in 24/7 and the completely unplugged, where any form of technology is useless. No technology will replace meditation or climbing a mountain, yet without technology it would be impossible to connect with people all over the world and share knowledge.

Both worlds have their benefits and drawbacks. I just hope we can all learn to coexist in these worlds. It’s hard enough to coexist in the physical world and this second world is becoming bigger and more present with every second.

One day we will all be plugged in, and those who refuse will be shunned. The web will become the real world, and sometimes we escape to the former real world. And I’ll be complaining about those people who are missing all the sights and sounds of bits and bytes flowing by, and that amazingly colourful firewall they missed because they had to listen to a woodpecker.

It’s a damn shame.