It’s a hot weekend, everyone is laid back, the time is right to continue our dialogue on social media and how it’s changing the way we interact. Our purpose is to tap into this new phenomenon effectively in order to promote political change, but first we need to understand it at a base line level–how is it changing the way we life today.
Yesterday I received one of those chain emails. I ignore them if they’re pictures of fluffy kittens or syrupy sunsets, but this one was different. It itemized 9 things that will disappear in our lifetime:
1. the post office: yep, the advent of email, texting, buttressed by FedEx and UPS has made the postman redundant, although I’m not sure what our dog will do without his midday fix of ripping the mail out of the mail slot before the postman has had a chance to release it. One thing to consider from a political perspective is that the postal service is the most efficient way to get poltical information about candidates to apartment dwellers and seniors living in old age homes. Door knockers are not allowed into multi-unit buildings for security reasons.
2. the cheque: yep, direct deposits, ATMs and on line banking did away with cheques years ago, so why do banks persist in offering paper cheques–probably those pesky seniors again. (Sorry Mom!)
3. the newspaper: this one pains me. I love the luxury of flipping through the newspaper, reading about the beached whales (again) and the monster astroids hurtling towards earth. I worry that on-line newspapers with their “customized” search process will prevent me from finding these fringe articles and I’ll become a boring dinner companion.
4. the book: this one sticks in my craw. I know Kindles are more efficient, but boy are they ugly when compared to a fine hard cover or even a well thumbed paperback. Besides, how will I know what my fellow traveller is reading and whether it’s risky for me to strike up a conversation when we’re stuck in a holding pattern over Chicago.
5. the landline telephone: right, get rid of it, and rid yourself of those irritating computerized sales calls once and for all. But note that political parties canvass their constituents by telephone and a phone call is a very effective way to gauge candidate support, reach out to volunteers, etc. It’s easier to find landline phone numbers than cell phone numbers so political parties will have to find another way of tracking down potential supporters.
6. music: the focus here was the music industry’s inability to come up with innovative new music. The fact that the tunes of the 70’s keep coming back in hip format attests to that. I don’t know whether this is a real fear, however as someone who completely missed 8 tracks and went straight from LP records to CD’s I’m probably the last person to talk to about this one.
7. television: good! the sooner regular TV dies, the better. Enough said.
8. your possessions: apparently ordinary people will store their possessions–photo albums, books, movies etc in “the cloud”. Sounds appealling to anyone who’s tried to get a teenager to clean up her room, but I’d miss my books etc (see item 4 above) so I wouldn’t hold my breath.
9. privacy: yep, this is a serious concern. On the one hand the internet, blogs and facebook have allowed us to spread the word on serious issues (politicians are just starting to figure this out), on the other hand, I find it unsettling that the facebook ads on my page are geared to weight loss and wrinkle cream but my hair stylist is receiving notices of the best gay bar in the area. How do they know that I’m a woman of a certain age and he lives an alternative lifestyle?
So there are pros and cons with the movement to the digital age. What do you think? Will we lose these things in our lifetime? Will we care?
Making Alberta Better 
Here are some comments received by email from Linda:
Some of these things have already been “lost” for some people so I guess it is no big deal to actually have them disappear.
I’m not concerned about whether we have a post office or not, even with work – when we had that short mail strike – everything got delivered somehow… internet, private delivery services from bikes to trucks, couriers. Although it is nice to get and give anniversary cards or birthday cards in the mail – like opening a present!
I think cheques are irritating and a waste of paper.
I still like books and newspapers, there are millions of them available and they are easier to operate. I still like music and TV. We just, finally, up graded our TV to Shaw digital, with one package we got 10, count ’em 10, extra channels. Now my son wants MORE channels (he always wants MORE) and my daughter is bummed out because she lost TSN where all the soccer games, even the ones from places we never even heard of, were broadcast, but TSN is in another package which I don’t want to pay for, and neither do they.
We still have to have land line phone out here because Shaw phone and cell phones are not reliable and it is also really irritating when you are trying to find a client and their cell number keeps changing.
Don’t like “the cloud”, what is mine is in my hands. Don’t want to lose my privacy.
Just call me “old”, no, second thought …. don’t call me “old”!
Let’s see. After the last postal strike the post office can go anytime and I guarantee you my bill collectors will find me if they want their money. Cheques are no longer of any use cause almost everything can be put on my credit card, on which I get airmiles. I never did read much in the newspaper but I will miss my horoscope (that was never right but fun) and the crossword. Books I will truly miss because like chocolate they are my comfort zone. I love to read books and am somewhat clumsy so am afraid of breaking anything electronic that I have to carry with me. My husband has put all my music on my Ipod Nano (which clips onto anything so I won’t drop it) so I am happy but like I said I have relied on my house phone for a long time. I was of the sound mind that if someone wanted to find me they could call me at home or work, the rest of the time I spend with my TV and books.
Now television. That is a tricky question. Let’s split this up. I do not watch daytime TV as there is nothing on, I hate talk shows because they are all fake smiles and bragging. Not too big on reality shows but I do enjoy some of the prime time shows that are pure make believe BUT I tend to PVR most of what I like because I can not stay awake long enough to watch it.
My possessions fit into a shoe box and that is where all my private secrets are as well. I don’t like everyone knowing what I am doing, all the time, so I don’t need twitter and facebook. Just leave a message on my machine and let me decide what I tell to who, when.
No, I am not a hermit and believe there are some things I will miss of course but as a person who refused to get a cell phone, until this year, do we need to be in contact 24/7?
OK, so far we have:
post office – gone
cheques – gone
books – stay
newspapers – 2 to 1 say stay
landline – it can stay if there’s no other choice, having said that if you’ve got an old landline like my parents, make sure you check it often to ensure the wires haven’t fallen out of the wall…long story but suffice it to say that if your phone rings busy for 6 hours your kids will call the police to check on you
TV – it depends on having MORE channels and PVR (whatever that is)
Possessions into “the cloud” – over my dead body!
So the message I’m getting is that these technological improvements are nice and may well push the old things into the technological dust bin, but possessions are special. We’ll keep them in a shoebox stored on the top shelf in the closet forever. The fact that I still have a moon ring given to me by a 13 year old suitor bears that out.
I found the list of items quite amusing, and I wondered if age might have anything to do with the nature of responses. Given that some of us perhaps started with only books and newspapers and the post office, only to see that in recent years, alternatives have arrived, while others of a younger generation, may not have experienced the pleasures of delicately straightening out a sopping wet newspaper from the almost front stoop. Perhaps nostalgia is a bigger player than reality. While I still enjoy reading a newspaper with real printers ink (and subsequently smearing my paw prints with the residual ink over everything), I find I read more newspapers online now with only one daily paper coming to the house.
My biggest challenge is to determine if the new options are as convenient (and as safe) as the old ones. As some of your commentators quipped, people can still find you if you owe them money. I think of other changes in life from the milkman coming to the door daily and the gas station attendant not only gassing up your car, but checking the oil level and tire pressure in addition to keeping you abreast of community news as he worked. I survived those changes, and am quite happy in undertaking such duties. However, did we lose something in the evolution of efficiency at the expense of personal service, and sense of community where the attendant and milkman actually knew your name? The loss of social cohesion and connectivity is something we to take into consideration besides just the cost of doing business in new ways.
Interesting comment about whether our transition to e-this and I-that has resulted in a loss of connectivity and social cohesion. The “young” people would argue that they are even more connected now through their social networking applications than we ever were, but I wonder if that’s true. At least the milk man would notice if you hadn’t taken in your milk for 2 days and would sound the alarm whereas your facebook friends wouldn’t bat an eyelash if you were off the grid for 2 months.
That being said I’ve met some wonderful people through the blog and by emailing notes to every MLA I can think of who might be sympathetic to the healthcare issue. These people (including the MLAs) have directed me to other like minded people. I’ve met some of these people in person and am getting to know the rest by email…and feel I’m developing a delightful and productive friendship with all of them.
Perhaps we’re talking about distinct but interrelated issues: using social media to communicate information about issues and connect with others with similar interests vs being connected on a different level with another person so that you know when they’re distressed or happy and can go to them to share their pain or joy. I see the former activity as being very well suited to social media and the latter activity as requiring face to face contact over coffee at Timmy’s (perhaps after they’ve sent you a little email note saying “things are a little rough right now, call me”.)
It’s an interesting evolution in human relationships and the spread of knowledge and information.