Not feeling even a bit eloquent...

...But I still feel compelled to chronicle my weekend, for fear of losing it to my bad memory.

Friday was for star5's Japanese birthday party. It was silly fun. I envy her the trip to Japan - hope it's wonderful.

Saturday was for helping SaraCura move out of her studio (seems symmetrical since we helped her move into it). And for a night of being antisocial - I needed "me" time.

Sunday was for the Ren Fest with tesla_aldrich. It was gorgeous weather, and we got to do a little bit of everything, including spending a bit of time with ethel and pied_piper70. I was really tired by the time we got home, but happy.

Today is azure_armand's first day of work at his new job. We are experimenting with commuting together in the morning, so we were up and out the door an hour or more before I have been in recent months. It's so great that he has this job! And it's nice to commute with him in the morning. It's a bit hard to adjust to the earlier morning schedule, though.

Twitter, Facebook, and Social Activism

http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2010/10/04/101004fa_fact_gladwell?currentPage=1

One thing that stood out to me in this article is that what makes activists committed is strong ties, and high risk activism is congruent with those strong ties. The article argues that social media creates weak ties, which are great for diffusion of information etc., but not for creating high-risk activism. I think perhaps that Gladwell makes the mistake of thinking that social media activism enthusiasts think that all activism must be handled digitally – I don't imagine this is the case, I think it's more of a supplement.

Still, Gladwell's conclusion gives me pause:

But [social media] is simply a form of organizing which favors the weak-tie connections that give us access to information over the strong-tie connections that help us persevere in the face of danger. It shifts our energies from organizations that promote strategic and disciplined activity and toward those which promote resilience and adaptability. It makes it easier for activists to express themselves, and harder for that expression to have any impact. The instruments of social media are well suited to making the existing social order more efficient. They are not a natural enemy of the status quo. If you are of the opinion that all the world needs is a little buffing around the edges, this should not trouble you. But if you think that there are still lunch counters out there that need integrating it ought to give you pause.

I'm not sure where I fall. I think that social media can be very helpful in sharing information and organizing. But I have to admit that all the Tweets in the world don't fire me up the way an in-person midnight bullshit session might. Does that make me old-fashioned, or does it highlight a truth about social media and how it can't take the place of in person communication?