The Internet killed the alien star

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To be honest I'm fairly open minded about the idea of sharing the universe with other life forms but until I see something with my own two eyes, I'm a wee bit sceptical. A recent article by Ziauddin Sardar in the New Statesman draws an interesting correlation between the reduction in UFO sightings and the development of the Internet. Yeah I know, it sounds weird. Sardar's opinion is that UFOs are merely cultural devices that allow people to explain the unexplainable: 'Instead of projecting our fears of the inexplicable on to outer space, we project them into cyberspace'. Although seemingly sightings haven't reduced by the hilarious flaming the poor guy gets from some serious UFO twitchers.

People are apparently now seeking solace in virtual worlds, online gaming, chat rooms, blogs, and forums, instead of in religion and UFOs. Sardar essentially believes the Internet has made us become self absorbed and inward looking. I'm not really convinced by his argument but there are some thought provoking opinions in there, whichis always good. You can read the full article here.

I personally believe that the Internet is anything but inward looking. It is far from being just an introspective tool, it gives people more freedom and confidence than ever before. Rather than feeling the need to seek out 'the meaning of life' perhaps people are just more comfortable with their existence and have a greater desire for self expression? It's the generation of the creators rather than the followers.

To Facebook or not to Facebook?

I finally joined Facebook after months of deliberation. After all it is my job to be up to speed on things like this. The basis for my resistance centred around comments such as: I don't have enough time for another form of social media, it's only for the kids and it's only for sados who don't have friends in the real world. Fortunately I was pleasantly surprised on all counts. Although some things I did find strange.

When I first joined it immediately worried me that anyone who seeked out my profile at this very minute would think I was short of mates since I last met them. Therefore you have to frantically add friends and even steal others who you can tenuously claim as your own. Once you have a healthy list, ideally larger than an ex-girlfriend's, the amount of time required on Facebook reduces.

Whilst there are loads of people I would like to get back in contact with, there are a few who I would quite happily keep as a distant memory. I had a bad experience with Friends Reunited when I stupidly left my mobile number on it. The result of which was a number of random phone calls from people I vaguely remember going to school with, let alone talking to. One of which was from a guy who told me he was up on a manslaughter charge. Fancy a pint? Did I bollocks! They were horribly awkward conversations I didn't want to repeat.

I also didn't and still don't understand ex-girlfriend protocol. Is it OK to 'poke' your ex-girlfriends and see if they bite? I'm worried that my current girlfriend, who isn't on Facebook will take it the wrong way if I tell her I have been poking Amy on my lunch break, even though I haven't actually seen her since we did PE in our pants together.

Whilst it is great to upload photos from nights out and have conversations with your mates, the thing I like about Facebook is that it's like having a fight with a midget and keeping him, or her, I must remain PC, at arms length. It allows you to keep in 'just enough touch' with people you won't phone every week, but would like to know how they are doing from time to time. There are 100s of other neat little features that to be honest make up a fantastic social network. Thumbs up to Facebook. Thumbs down however to the 'Don't tell my mum I'm in advertising, she thinks I play the piano in a brothel' group. You can only join it if you work in London apparently. I don't want to be your friend anyway, I've got other friends now so nerggghhh.

Community culture

How timely, just as I start my blog, worrying about whether the world needs another planner with an opinion, Russell Davies feels the heat of an 'expert’. In ‘community’ lingo, he got flamed.

Although Russell doesn’t reference the culprit, you can find the blog here. I saw it posted a couple of months ago, whilst on Brandrepublic.com. For those that haven’t been on the forum it’s really bizarre. It’s like a breeding ground for jumped up advertising know it alls, so if I was Russell I wouldn’t take it to heart. Take a look; it will make you smile at least.

It’s not the specific personal attack, but the community culture thing that fascinates me. The way that they mutate over time and develop distinctive personalities. It amazes me how they can connect and influence people that would never otherwise meet, and I don’t just mean by location.

Take the Russell example. A successful, award-winning planner is upset by the comments of someone who is probably fresh out of University and has that nothing worthwhile to say. As a result he stops posting for a bit. Then think of the knock on effect. I don’t know the exact number but I’d imagine a lot of people not only view Russell’s blog everyday but also reference it and use it as a source of inspiration.

I always use forums and blogs as a starting point to get a general view of the brand and audience I’m working with. The views are often so polarised and exaggerated, but that’s the point. People aren’t held back by what other people might think and this can at least point you in a good direction. If you look harder enough you can find some gems although you do have to wade through a lot of crap. In the past it has been invaluable, particularly when working in gaming, football and even higher education. I wouldn’t base an entire idea on the evidence gained in a forum, but it’s an interesting starting point for any planner.