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See Who’s Using the Internet to Make Life Less Meaningful

by Brian on 11-08-2010

in art,belief,creativity,culture,media,web

I’ve heard great things about Zadie Smith’s work as a writer, but I had a hard time bringing myself to click on this link. The essay is about Facebook, and the generation that made it, and the movie that everyone’s talking about. It also references Jaron Lanier’s critique of the internet and adds to a growing [...]

Tagged as: change, evolution, facebook, future, generativity, meaning, philosophy, progress, social media, society, technology, twitter

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The Social Network Movie as a Social Application

by Brian on 10-05-2010

in art,belief,business,civics,creativity,culture,education,london,media

I just had a crazy thought about The Social Network. It turns on this controversial and often-repeated remark (found here) by screenwriter Aaron Sorkin: I don’t want my fidelity to be to the truth; I want it to be to storytelling. I’m #TeamInternet all the way but I appreciate where Sorkin is coming from. I’m sort [...]

Tagged as: cultural evolution, facebook, fiction, film, generativity, internet, movies, narrative, stories, storytelling, truth, web, writing

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An Opportunity to Reset the Agenda for Canadian Democracy

by Brian on 01-08-2010

in canada,civics

I enthusiastically support Stephen Harper’s decision to prorogue parliament… Here’s why. Proponents of more open, participatory, and directly accountable government have just been handed the best opportunity we could ask for. It’s a turning point in the narrative of centralized power that began with Jean Chrétien’s run in the 90s and has built up ever since. [...]

Tagged as: activism, canada, citizen engagement, facebook, government, open, parliament, politics, prorogation, public sphere, slacktivism, social media, stephen harper

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Create Your Own University

by Brian on 08-14-2009

in economics,education

This is going to be a big theme for me in the near future… … the Web’s infinite niches make for richer possibilities for identity construction—it creates, as it were, a bubble in personal identity. We thereby need a platform where our social production—in this case, of our own identity—can be consumed, where the value [...]

Tagged as: capital, continuing education, facebook, google, higher education, intellectual property, investment, learning, love of learning, rob horning, social media, tyler cowen

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Unplugging 2009

by Brian on 08-04-2009

in general

Just like last year I’ll be away from blogging for the first part of August. I’ll still be using email and Facebook… I think I might actually use Facebook more than I have before. My brother is getting married on Saturday so this is a perfect time to focus on the more ‘real’ and fundamental, interpersonal [...]

Tagged as: blogging, digital, facebook, lifestyle, personal, personal development, twitter, web

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New FriendFeed, New World, New Practices & Roles

by Brian on 04-06-2009

in business,media,science

I’ve had the mixed blessing today of being home sick and bored — so lot’s of time to watch the new real-time FriendFeed shimmy and scroll down my screen. I’m not suggesting the new FriendFeed is itself at the centre of the “new world” in the title; I’m using it as a point of reference: [...]

Tagged as: facebook, friendfeed, new memdia, practices, skills, social media, web, work

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Growing Into the Web as It Grows Up

by Brian on 03-10-2009

in art,business,civics

I’m going through some self-enforced downtime as far as blogging is concerned. Whenever I start building up momentum with longer posts I start getting too many ideas queued up and overdoing it and not getting sleep and turning into a workahol-addicted zombie. Some might say it isn’t work but I say it damn well is. [...]

Tagged as: blogging, Charlie Rose, evan williams, facebook, google, london, marc andreessen, marissa mayer, social media, social networking, twitter, web

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