Oz Behind The Curtain
In an industry that at times appears to be completely anonymous and automated I find it reassuring when I receive the “So and so has moved on to pursue other interests and so and so will be your new account rep” email. I tend to get so entirely caught up with my life on-screen that I begin to forget that an outside world exists. This email always seems to usher me back to reality reminding me that there is no Oz behind the curtain of the internet. There are only people like myself trying to find their way in this lifetime. Frankly, it is man’s fickle nature that reminds me that we are in fact human and need to lead a life outside our laptops. The anonymity of the web has a strange dichotomy that mirrors so many things in the outside world. Is the anonymity that we are creating life imitating art or art imitating life? As a society, we have become so utterly reliant on technology that we seem to neglect the more trivial human interactions of the past. We write emails to grandparents and text message our significant others because it’s just easier that way. We can have all the benefits of a human relationship without ever talking or experiencing the physical touch. We have created an online universe replete with leaders, followers, grunts, veterans, and a never ending stream of glassy eyed entrepreneurs so close to their first million. This life online is characterized by quick abbreviated banter and aggressive negotiations. Often individuals interact over the course of years without ever meeting face to face. There are rarely hand shakes and even rarer is the celebration of success between two partners. When I look at the world we have created online I cannot help but to look outward at the world in which we live. I probably spend more time with my Treo and my television than I do with the people that really matter to me. When I get that email that “so and so has moved on to pursue other interests” something inside me clicks and I realize that I too am human, fickle, and above all, alive outside my cube.
