Walking our dog Derby early this morning I noticed how familiar our neighborhood is. We’ve lived here for 20 years. I can name which kids grew up in which house, know what plants are coming up next in which gardens, and remember where the birds roost.
It’s comforting to know the terrain. Like all of us, I rely on familiarity and community to ground me in these times of radical change.
In 1975, I began my career in a Midwestern newsroom, typing on a manual typewriter. In the 30 years since, I’ve been a casual adopter of new technologies. So it surprises me to discover how much new terrain I’ve explored in the virtual world over the past 12 months.
Perhaps the Obama campaign opened up this virgin territory for those of us who were somewhat technophobic. His election, his meteoric rise and fundraising confounded our previous assumptions about “how the world works”.
In the past six months I have done the following new things with social media:
- I started a Facebook account and found friends from every city I’ve ever inhabited. It’s changed my sense of community and connectivity across my lifetime.
- I’ve also written and forwarded a blog-type email to my address book that was heavily forwarded by others throughout the internet.
- I began reading political blogs and watching TED, and found my own favorites.
- I began to web-surf as play.
I’ve become a pioneer in the virtual world… pioneer in the sense of wondering what will my journey find on the other side of that mountain. The future possibilities of this virtual world makes me more optimistic than ever.
Coming next….a social media vignette from our youngest partner, Michael Kosmala.
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