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Ephemeral vs. Eternal
Oct. 28th, 2006 05:36 amI wrote this in a comment to one of my LJ friends and decided I like enough to make it a post. Slightly edited for context.
I've been thinking lately about the fact that, despite being pretty much an open book, there are things that I don't want to put online. LJ can be relatively private with filters, but at the end of the day it's online, and it can last forever. Electronic information is so weird--at once ephemeral and eternal. My digital pictures are a good example--when I took real pictures with a real film camera, every picture was precious, and I have them all boxed up in real time and space. I know they will eventually degrade, but they feel much more permanent than the digital pictures I have on my hard drive. My digital pictures are at the mercy of my computer's hardiness, and vulnerable to my backup whims. But at the same time, I've sent hundreds of them out to other people, and stashed tons on various websites, so in a way they are more accessible and enduring than my paper pix.
OK... so... what?
Oh yeah.
I would love to be able to confide certain things to my LJ crew, or some of them. But if I put it on LJ, it stays there unless I remember to delete it later. Personal email to trusted real-life friends goes to another level for me. Then again, there are certain things I won't even put in an email, or say on the phone.
I guess some things are meant for face-to-face discussions only. Whispered. In the dark. Over wine. And who has time for moments like those anymore?
I've been thinking lately about the fact that, despite being pretty much an open book, there are things that I don't want to put online. LJ can be relatively private with filters, but at the end of the day it's online, and it can last forever. Electronic information is so weird--at once ephemeral and eternal. My digital pictures are a good example--when I took real pictures with a real film camera, every picture was precious, and I have them all boxed up in real time and space. I know they will eventually degrade, but they feel much more permanent than the digital pictures I have on my hard drive. My digital pictures are at the mercy of my computer's hardiness, and vulnerable to my backup whims. But at the same time, I've sent hundreds of them out to other people, and stashed tons on various websites, so in a way they are more accessible and enduring than my paper pix.
OK... so... what?
Oh yeah.
I would love to be able to confide certain things to my LJ crew, or some of them. But if I put it on LJ, it stays there unless I remember to delete it later. Personal email to trusted real-life friends goes to another level for me. Then again, there are certain things I won't even put in an email, or say on the phone.
I guess some things are meant for face-to-face discussions only. Whispered. In the dark. Over wine. And who has time for moments like those anymore?
