wefail: The Internet Isn't Real
A few weeks ago I attended Flash In the Can, a Canadian Flash Developers' Conference. I find it particularly interesting to visit with different circles of connected people to see some of the interesting differences from one group to the next.
Sitting in a room with a wide array of designers and artists definitely puts a different spin on your perceptions. Sure everyone's up to their elbows in geekiness in one form or another, but, at the same time, that sense of "bucking the system" is hard to escape.
Over the last few days, several people have been swapping links to a presentation done by a group known as wefail. I was going through the slides where I found this funny little nugget:
CHALLENGE PERCEPTION.remember: the internet is not real.there are no real consequences for the lies that you tell.the only people that think the internet is real are bloggers.
Now I can't say for sure, exactly, if this was the actual material from the conference, nor can I actually tell the tone that was imparted with it, so don't quote me. I do know, however, that at first blush, this sounds almost like one of the stupidest things I've ever heard (although that's the expected reaction from a stupid blogger).
Of course, this is a part of that "bucking" that I was referring to earlier. But let's assume it's not completely without wrong -- are we too focused on the Internet? I could see some reason in that. As many have complained already, not taking part in the blogging world tends to alienate others ala the Last Sober Partygoer Syndrome. Our trusted conversations with our highly inbred blog society can quickly come to overwhelm our real-world sensitivities. I know I can't remember how many time's I've referred to something in my blog while out and about.
Maybe we just don't handle lots of information well, so we tend to lump things together. Perhaps the small world theory needs to be adapted to work inside the mind of individuals, as opposed to just for our relationships to others.