Bird’s Eye: Like many things we couldn’t live without, computers may not be good for us, as a chorus of people are pointing out. The Guardian has an amusing piece that sounds the core themes, Gizmodo has a vicious anti-Facebook rant, and Google stays one step ahead of your mind. But as William Gibson quotes this week on his blog, (and it’s exactly what makes Tikkunista! possible): “Fuck the exposition,” he says gleefully, as we go back into the bar. “Just *be*. The exposition can come later.” He describes a theory of television narrative. “If I can make you curious enough, there’s this thing called Google. If you’re curious about the New Orleans Indians, or ‘second-line’ musicians–you can look it up.” The Internet, he suggests, can provide its own creative freedom, releasing writers from having to over-explain, allowing history to light the characters from within.
* Google Instant Is Trying To Kill Me Charlie Brooker The Guardian
Last week I realised the internet wants to kill me. I was trying to write a script in a small room with nothing but a laptop for company. Perfect conditions for quiet contemplation – but thanks to the accompanying net connection, I may as well have been sharing the space with a 200-piece marching band.
I entered the room at 10.30 am. Because I was interested in the phone-hacking story, I’d set up an automatic Twitter search for the term “Coulson” (eavesdropping, essentially: he’d hate it). Whenever someone mentioned his name, a window would pop up in the corner of my screen to alert me. Often their messages included a link to a webpage, which I’d end up skim-reading. This was on top of the other usual web distractions: emails, messageboards, self-deluding “research” on Wikipedia, and so on.
By 1pm I’d written precisely three lines of script. Yet my fingers had scarcely left the keyboard. My brain felt like a loose, whirring wheel that span with an audible buzz yet never quite touched the ground….
* Top Ten Reasons You Should Quit Facebook Gizmodo
After some reflection, I’ve decided to delete my account on Facebook. I’d like to encourage you to do the same. This is part altruism and part selfish. The altruism part is that I think Facebook, as a company, is unethical. The selfish part is that I’d like my own social network to migrate away from Facebook so that I’m not missing anything. In any event, here’s my “Top Ten” reasons for why you should join me and many others and delete your account.
See also: The Twenty-Seven People You’ll Meet on Facebook (cartoon: Joy of Tech)
* Google Wants to Own the Future…by Predicting It! Datamation
…Even more tellingly, Schmidt said. “I actually think most people don’t want Google to answer their questions. They want Google to tell them what they should be doing next.” Schmidt conjured up a world where, knowing your location, Google will remind you of things it believes you want to be reminded of.
That’s actually where Google is going. The present instant, the current moment, the right now isn’t fast enough for Google. They want the next instant they can’t wait for you to think. They want to tell you what you’re going to think before you think it.
