New technologies are popping up at a rapid pace. Sometimes they actually fulfill a need and demonstrate humans utilizing inventive solutions to problems. But a bigger factor in their arrival is how capitalism compels new markets to blanket the landscape so that people keep working for garbage. And a lot of the newest gadgets are garbage with a short life span built into them—also known as planned obsolescence. Actually many new technologies are worse than garbage for they precipitate wasteful practices of our resources. The wool is pulled over a lot of peoples’ eyes—many of who just want to keep up with the times. Not seeing the big picture, many of us have wandered the aisles of shopping centers only to find ourselves lost at the dump. There are plenty of people who get by on older technologies, especially once you get spitting distance from the centers of wealth. The commodities of twenty plus years ago are still useable today, with as much satisfaction in their performance. Even though older technologies may be considered cumbersome and difficult to operate, they are often built to last a generation—when was the last time you saw something new built to last a generation?
The advances of this age are not only in technology and science but in communication as well. A problem with the latest networking fads is that the portals are controlled by corporations and the state. Cells phones, Tweets, Facebook, Tumblr….are simple, fun, and fast. They are so simple most people don’t even consider what they say to whom and when—when that’s exactly what’s being cataloged for purposes beyond our comprehension. They can also be taken away instantly. Radicals don’t need another reason to be paranoid but, then again, they often acquiesce to the mainstream fads so to not to seem freakish. When it comes down to it, cyber networking is the most fulfilling when it leads to human contact. Why not go straight to the source? Technology is not so far removed from the techniques of networking practiced and developed over the years. Taking the time with people and not things has merit. In fact, where we place our attention and how we do things is of prime importance. This approach also helps define reality for those coming up trying to understand this all. The internet and its gadgets have only been in widespread use for a couple decades—yet their perfection is often cited why we should throw away all that got us here. Consider then some suggestions of other forms of keeping the fabric of life connected.
SOME OLDER WAYS OF NETWORKING:
-WORD OF MOUTH
-VISITS!
-NEWSLETTERS
-FLIERS/HANDBILLS/POSTERS
-LETTERS
-LETTER BOXES (leaving letters in a box in public)
-GRAFFITI
-STREET ART
-SECRET MESSAGES IN PUBLICATIONS (like this one)
-DANCING
-PARTYING
-SEX
-SINGING
-MATCHING TATTOOS
-ZINES
-DISTROS/CATALOGS
-EVENTS PHONE HOTLINE
-PIRATE RADIO
-STARTING A BAND
-GATHERINGS/POTLUCK/RETREATS