Changes + Rules = Sucks x 2
Web 2.0, collaborative writing, and my learnings from probably one of the most powerful classes I’ve ever taken (ENGL3372) is my task to write about today. But I can’t. I need to write about “The Changing Rules”.
Everything is changing so fast today. Social Media, electronic communications, collaborative electronic endeavors, and a whole planet of people, nations, societies, communities and individuals are contributing today, right now, a redefining of humanity. Rules on the whole are changing and it is a trickle down to the individual. I say trickle down because I know no better illustrative phrase, but right now the trickle feels like Niagara Falls. As I’m thinking this through, I think I’m going to need to break this into two thought processes: Change and Rules. I think. But we will see how it goes.
Change
I was born in 1960, remember the first “pong” electronic game. Played a little on a CB radio Daddy built from Heathkit. I’ve known life through a series of innovation/invention lenses, remembering our first microwave oven, cassette tapes from the 8-tracks, from the 45’s & 78’s (that’s the vinyl records). Radio to stereo to hi-fi, now to digital. In a nut shell, I guess I’ve seen it, heard it, experienced it all. That’s me and my generation. We may have to be renamed the Guinea Pig generation me thinks! Oh My Lord: I’m going to be one of those old people who will spout to the young whippersnappers about MY day. ugh – dear young generation, I am so sorry.
As I reflect, and this may be from the knowledge being collected in this class, my generation is the generation that, when made available for consumers, also saw the new “stuff” being very expensive at the onset. That sadly allowed the well off access and the less fortunate to go without. In my opinion, and remember I’m a big nobody in the world here, that actually divided my generation into the technically challenged and the technically savvy – a gap we still see vividly today in the 50 year plus generations. Love it, hate it. Embrace it, disregard it. Believe it, disavow it. There are very few middle of the roaders with “my people”.
Change is almost the “norm” for me and my generation, but as everyone knows change is exciting, engaging, scary, frightening and just down right hard to navigate – especially when you have no choice in the matter. Fight tooth and nail today and you simply cannot have AT&T install a rotary dial phone in your home. Go to the department store and you will not find a leisure suite in powder blue with brown pockets! Go to the record store…aah…never mind. That REALLY changed, to extinction. Wow. Lots of change.
Rules
;
Change happens and as a byproduct so comes new rules. This is the painful reality. Let me go google “change” – stand by… Uh-oh! This isn’t pretty people! From dictionary.reference.com:
change [cheynj] verb (used with object)
- to make the form, nature, content, future course, etc., of(something) different from what it is or from what it would be if left alone: to change one’s name; to change one’s opinion;to change the course of history.
- to transform or convert (usually followed by into ): The witch changed the prince into a toad.
- to substitute another or others for; exchange for something else, usually of the same kind: She changed her shoes when she got home from the office.
- to give and take reciprocally; interchange: to change places with someone.
- to transfer from one (conveyance) to another: You’ll have to change planes in Chicago.
- to remove and replace the covering or coverings of: to change a bed; to change a baby.
Every single example above involves rule modification. What was now is. Old rules don’t seem to work any longer. This is painful for people on a number of levels, yet for me I try to stay calm today about it. Rules of behavior, etiquette, understanding, action, application, procurement, consumption, education, employment, rights, liberties, loving, contracts, jurisprudence, society – it is all different today. Living today has a whole new set of rules thank you Web 2.0. The invasive virility of Web 2.0 has and is cutting much harder and deeper than just a screen and a keyboard. It’s actually frightening when I stop and think about it, so I won’t be doing much of that right now.
I clearly sense from all the topics we have covered in class that how we navigate the change and how we reestablish the new rules is either going to kill us, or make us thrive. I’m not sensing much middle here. Culturally, it may take the die off of the generations born prior to the 1980’s to purge the system of old-timers, as I just learned that our digital natives are those born and raised on the technology. They trust it explicitly and without question. My generation is the one that is saying watch out! Question what you read. Critically think about this or that and weight the pro’s and the con’s. It’s just a lot of work – all this change, all this thinking, all these new rules.
It’s All A Cycle (Fingers Crossed Hopefully)
Change, rules, meaning, existence…. it is all cyclic I am praying and hoping. Today I’m on the uphill side of it all. I’m tired, sad, disheartened with it all the influence it’s having on me, or maybe it’s my influence on it?!?? Today is one of those days I want to exit quietly without note or notice, one paper bag of essential clothes and basic toiletries – NO TECHNOLOGY, get in the car, hit the highway and simply drive till I stop. GOING OFF THE GRID SOUNDS REALLY GOOD RIGHT NOW! North, south, east, west – makes no difference to me.
Starting over. What a thought. But that isn’t really going to happen because that calls for too much change. For starters, where do I begin to find a real paper bag? (I always liked the name Adam. Good name. Hey! Wasn’t that the first man’s name? Why change a good thing?)
Mitch J: My Life After Death 
I feel your sentiments completely, I hate change and would have stayed a child forever if possible, but change is inevitable. I try and keep up the best I can, not successful always but as long as I try I feel I’m making progress.
Mitch man! It has be absolutely great having you in class indeed English 3372 Computers and Writing has been one of the most powerful classes that I have ever taken myself. This could have been easily a very bland class but we made the best out of it haha our discussions in class made it one that we looked forward to actually attending.. My first thought was that we are just going to be sitting on the computer the entire class period but boy was I wrong! The web is changing so fast and just like I said in my presentation the web is changing minute by minute, second by second and it is honestly the epitome of self-organization. I can’t imagine it falling apart. Everything changes just like the weather the world and net is also going to constantly be changing it is truly inevitable.The web does have rules and there are tools on how to do things the “right” way as we might say and we are just going to have to follow them the web is way beyond just our fingertips and a keyboard haha. We are taken into places that we don’t even know about we are given knowledge like no other. Overall you had a great post and I have really enjoyed keeping up with your blogs.