The Hurrier I Go, The Behinder I Get

I woke up from a dream not too long ago, thinking about QWERTY. Now as you may know that is the name of the keyboard that I am using to type this and probably the keyboard you use too. I was surprised to learn some time ago that the arrangement of keys on the QWERTY keyboard supposedly was not to allow people to type quickly but to slow them down by placing the keys in award places to keep the levers that produced each letter from colliding as they typed. I like to think that the technology was changed to allow for human speed but it is common thought that that is not the case. This makes me wonder about the new coming waves of technology. It does seem that there will be a point where technology will move faster than we can as humans but will we remember who the technology is for? Will we make the technology serve us by intentionally slowing it down or will we force ourselves to work at a pace dictated by technology? In short, will we retain control or end up like Lucile Ball struggling with an uncaring production line of chocolate without the benefit of a laugh track.

On the dark side

Some years ago when we lived in Brooklyn, I delighted in the fact that our apartment was in between the revitalized and soon to be gentrified seventh avenue and the still un-gentrified Fifth avenue. I loved having the ability to go to Fifth avenue for a dollar store or to a bodega for dried candied ginger that I would never find on Seventh. This came to my mind when I saw more concern about the dark or deep web. These are websites that are either not accessible without specific browsers or search engines or not indexed by search engines. Many of these sites are used in drug sales, porn or for hackers and while I don’t condone the use of the web for illegal purposes I am fascinated to see how we wish to divide this part of our nature from the “light” or public web. We only want to think the best of our nature, to think we look only for the light and turn away from the dark. Have we not learned that we are two sides of one coin and that we need our darkness to see our light? Let our search be for truth which may take us through the darkness and through the light.

 

Down the I hole

Some current work is involving some data base correction and a fair amount of internet research. While I do enjoy research in and finding out information I have been shocked to see the internet holes (or I holes if you prefer) that people put themselves into. People and more so businesses seem to be neglecting  the creation of an online identity becoming internet ghosts.  While at first I was surprised to see that some contacts didn’t have profiles on LinkedIn- I was shocked to see that even more frequently the representative firms did not have profiles. In addition to this, it is not uncommon to find contacts with no e mail address or even websites for their firm or services. Have the voluntarily taken their business out of the public eye or are they blissfully unaware of the movement of information from print to digital. As we have discussed earlier, if you don’t exist on the web could it be said that you exist at all but it seems that while most of us would a terrifying business situation it seems there are people who still find the ignorance bliss, hiding in the attic while opportunity knocks at the door.