Selective Social Media
I love Facebook, but…
I love Facebook! What I love about it is I can go there anytime and get lost reminiscing about the Upper West Side in the 1970s when I was growing up and what I did as a kid: listening to Rolling Stones records, playing with Legos and Hot Wheels, skateboarding or tossing a disc in the middle of West End Avenue with 20 other kids. Those times were simple and we knew what we liked. When we thought Kryptonic Reds were the best and hugged the sidewalk when slaloming, we shared that with other kids. You either wore PRO-Keds or Converse. Favored Superman or Batman. Marlboro or Winston. These choices made us who we were; defined us as individuals.
Our current social media can be vast and bottomless. When there is so much to take in with no end, it sometimes gets to be too much. The amount of information pouring into our consciousness muddies our waters and reduces the depth of who we are. We “Like” things without mercy and our attention to any one thing lasts only as long as the morning dew — to grab someone’s attention, you need to engage them in 15 seconds or they are off again. It is like everybody around us has terminal ADD. I want to start a new trend of focusing and not distracting. Read a book instead of browsing through four apps on the way home. Pay attention to certain things; recommend objects and places that mean something. Determine a path and share it.
I have a few that I love, my favorites, and I will share some of them here for lack of a better place. They might change over time but at the moment they define me.
The Georg Jensen 5076 money clip is so thin and strong. It holds my folded bills perfectly and creates no additional thickness in my pocket. I can have $50 in singles or a single $50 bill and it always holds its shape. I lost the first one that my lovely Maria got me way back when, and almost immediately bought another one. I never leave home without it. The quality of this daily metal has never waned.
As far as music is concerned, I know I can always count on Material and Massive Attack. On a walk, in the shower or frantically getting a presentation together for a meeting, these two bands have the capability to simultaneously sooth and drive me. And blending in a bit of William S. Burroughs adds an interesting layer of complexity to the mix; introduces a narrative texture.
So think about refining what you like and link to your profile. Be selective about what you talk about: “talk is cheap” as the saying goes. Think deeply and surround yourself with smart things. Every choice you make defines you, so be selective.
BTW…that is me and my friends in the opening photo above. Back in 1977, we used to bomb 104th street leading down to Riverside Drive en masse! It is a favorite time of my life and I share that with my childhood friends.
Choices matter.../racine
