Absence

This past month my real world life has completely obliterated my virtual one. It is odd because increasingly I feel that the virtual world is more vibrant or at east that more is possible virtually than physically. In the physical world everything takes so much time. I was commuting to a town only twenty miles away to sit at a computer that was similar to the computer where I sit and write in the morning. It took two hours to physically travel there. It would take two hours to return. I have started working at a new job that performs analysis of what is called "consumer generated media" or the blogosphere for companies and people who can afford to pay for the intensive data collection and number crunching required to figure out what people are saying about them online and to do something about it. Generally, this doing something about it is positive. It involves listening and understanding why people are saying the things they are saying. It is odd that it takes so much energy to listen to the blogosphere with its promise of instant, global publication. The trick is that there is so much noise, chatter, and talk. In this explosion of noise, it is difficult to focus. So, it is interesting work. And ironically although I am in virtual space at work, my working place requires me to physically move my body from my town to their town. At least it is only a half-hour away.

Posted by mattbriggs at February 28, 2008 6:32 AM