I'm going to start this one with a bit of a disclaimer - I listen to BBC Radio 1, I know I'm 33 years old and its full of urban, down with the kids type music but I can't stand listening to adverts on the radio. Radio 2 is just a bit too tame for me just yet. I like the indie & rock music Radio 1 play and the banter's good too.
This chat, however, informed me of a track that was a collaboration, a dance track that had been written, composed (i know dance tracks aren't composed, they're just flung together) and produced by the makers over the internet. The people involved never even met through the whole process. I know this probably isn't all that unusual these days but how does the chemistry between artists happen if they're not even in the same room? I’m certainly not a musical creative but I can’t see how this can work. To be fair in this case it didn’t, the track was a bit rubbish!
This got me to think about how the world is evolving with the use of the worldwide web. There is no aspect of our lives that isn’t connected to being connected. The reason I am writing this is to post it on the internet. This it seems is the basic use of the cyber library we refer to in all aspects of our life.
I am a self-confessed gadget geek and I use a lot of technology in my daily life. My smart phone keeps me connected in every way I could possibly need; it’s come a long way since my Spectrum 128k! I wonder though what life would be like without this level of communication/information availability. I was reminded recently what it was like for someone two generations before me, their weekly struggle putting food on the table and looking after their children. Struggle is probably the wrong word because they were happy. Their struggle is a whole lot different to some people’s description of a struggle now. Not being able to get the best iPhone, not having the nicest car, having a crap job. “Oh no, my Blackberry won’t receive emails or tell me my friends Facebook status!” Did it make phone calls? That’s its primary function! We need to remember we lead a charmed life to how it used to be. Don’t get me wrong, I‘m one of the first to feel hard done by if I don’t have constant internet access, I moved house and didn’t have internet coming into the house for over six weeks. Take a step back and look at the bigger picture and it’s not that big a deal. Being kept on hold for an hour and a half was at the time.
Where can we get away from this technological age? For me? On a mountain! Yes you can get fancy GPS units that will give you the feel of technology but the core isolation, wind in your face feeling of solitude is out there in the Great Outdoors. Look down at the phone and there are no bars on the signal indicator, nothing! I may even look around and see nothing, just cloud and the rocks under my feet. On the flip side, I may look around and see the most stunning views as far as the eye can see. Both of these are just fine, although the latter is preferable!
Every time I go out it “zero’s” me, it resets my head and makes me see what the world has to offer and just makes me want to see more. Dramatic I know but the feeling is there and I never want to lose it…
Every single person in the world should experience this and I hope that I can assist in some small way in doing this.
I know I’m definitely not the first person to put his down into words and most have probably done it a far more eloquent fashion. This feeling can’t be produced over the internet, no matter how many websites, blogs, tweets or pictures I look at.
I can’t tell you how happy I am about that, I hope everyone feels that way…