Standing on the precipice
I seem to be an agent of change this week. I deleted my Tumblr and Instagram accounts, removed KIK from my mobile, dived headlong into the newly recharged Google+, talked to distant friends in “Hangouts”, and resurrected the technical blog. I wonder what might be next ?
I seem to have ended up with one foot in the Google camp, and another foot in the Facebook camp. Real world friends and acquaintances live in Facebook, and the wider techie crowd seems to live in Google+. I imagine it's only a matter of time before it picks up speed – people seem to forget that it took Facebook yearsbefore it really accelerated (and now they are losing members all over the world).
I've drifted from the title of the post, haven't I. If you're a new reader of my ramblings, that tends to happen a lot. I started out with some vague idea of something to write about, and within a paragraph or two I end up on some windmill tilting crusade against implausible enemies or injustices.
Everything is changing.
The maelstrom caused by Google upending the social internet over the past few days is causing relationships to be cut adrift. By choosing to use different online platforms and services we make new friends, and when we walk away or close accounts we lose friends.
Some people are better at moving on than others. I don't do it easily, which explains my reluctance to walk away from Tumblr, rather than continue bellyaching about it's deplorably inadequate features as I have for the last couple of years.
Sometimes we reach a precipice though. A wave hits us with enough force – Google+ in this case – that we are swept away with the tide, and while we might hold a hand up and wave to those who remain steadfast, eventually we turn and swim with the current. We look forward, but we don't forget.