In my day we made our own entertainment
My Grandparents were farmers in Somerset. They never really saw the necessity for television and indeed only got one in the early '90s when my grandfather got ill. Consequently childhood visits were rather delightful since in the evenings we were required to make our own entertainment just as they had all their lives - the last vestiges of an Edwardian upbringing full of tennis parties, journal writing and the vigorous consumption of slim volumes of poetry.
And it rather tickles me to think that our sources of entertainment are coming full circle - back to ourselves and a world my grand parents might have been familiar with. But instead of keeping diaries we blog, instead of amateur dramatics we have You Tube and Googleidol and instead of dusty slide shows of people butchering endangered species with gay abandon we have flickr.
In my day we make our own entertainment.
Comments
That's a brilliant reframing (on a par with empire/commonwealth). I've never thought about it like that. Very smart.
Posted by: russell at March 28, 2006 08:23 AM
Can I just apologise for the ghastly retro feel this blog has acquired ever since I worked out how to put images up.
Posted by: richard at March 28, 2006 05:39 PM
Wonderful observation Richard and in some ways quite comforting - thanks!
This reminds me that one of the more commendable traits of human behaviour is our innate need to create and share stuff with others - something that technology seems to be re-awakening. Isn't it interesting then that 'technology' per se is becoming largely invisible as we use it more. We may be at the point where computers have become 'household appliances' for example.
But the really interesting thing is what impact this availability of the means to self expression and creation will be on the next generation. What will kids growing up want to be in the future? If we/they are all contributing to designing the next Boeing airplane one minute then creating the actual characters to appear in the next blockbuster PSP game of an evening as opposed to reading slim volumes of poetry - who will want to be a train driver or fireman, or indeed study for years to become specialist in anything? Ooops - I'm rambling - sorry...
Posted by: Holycow at March 28, 2006 11:09 PM
Just wondering if you'd be interested in bloging / podcasting about Matrixstream's cutting edge video on demand and IPTV Technology ( TV over broadband ). This is a technology that allows the consumer to receive a potential for unlimited VOD / IPTV content up to 1080P in H.264 codec over any broadband connection on a PC Player or set top box for TV ( IMX1020 1080P High definition STB - the world's first 1080P H.264 STB ) If you'd like to see pictures and video's of the this new STB you can go to www.matrixstream.com/presskit . Let us know if your interested.
Yours Truly Aaron Keogh
Tel: 604-291-7727
E-mail: aaron@matrixstream.com
Website: www.matrixstream.com
Posted by: Aaron Keogh at April 3, 2006 05:22 AM
Should I delete that comment? Spam but relevant spam. Hmm
Posted by: Richard at April 3, 2006 08:08 PM
Hmmm - Russell is being infected with the same problem apparently. Well you could blog about the technology rather than the explicit product mentioned I guess - but why?
If you read the latest books on Buzz Marketing they all state that this is exactly the way to engage people - asking for comment on your product. I say it's nonsense - the one key factor you need is ...Respect. And this shows non of it for your readers and fellow conspirators. Bin it - you know you want to!
After all it is just.... (intro left: swelling male voice choir) spam spam spam spam spam spam spam spam etc etc
Posted by: Holycow at April 3, 2006 08:32 PM
P.S. He can't spell blogging either. Hmmmm
Posted by: Holycow at April 3, 2006 08:33 PM
It is interesting the way that many blogs rely on imagery that has a tactile element to it. Even the names of some of the blog systems hark back to the days of metal typesetting and newspaper ink. No matter how much technology we use, there is still a desire for true connection with others ... and we get that through resonance and association. Great post!
Posted by: Servant of Chaos at April 9, 2006 02:39 PM