All right stop collaborate and listen…
Its often good practice to slow down, stop and take a look around. That’s just what I’m doing now. Its a quiet Sunday morning post Christmas and Boxing Day. Having sat in front of the screen for a while catching up on the news and my dismal Fantasy Premier league score this week I realised that it had been some time since I had posted to my blog, it also got me thinking why this was. There are many reasons why I feel that I’ve not had the time to write anything meaningful but many of the answers lie with the iPhone and Twitter.
While both the iPhone and Twitter are fantastic in what they do there are things that suffer. Both offer an immediacy in the flow of information that has changed many ways I do and enjoy things. One example is watching event TV while watching Live comments via Twitter. It all makes for a communal viewing event that enhances the experience. I can also take photos and without going through the camera>iPhoto>flickr>blog I can snap and Tweet. An example of this would be the recent #uksnow feed where I could not only Tweet weather conditions but actually show the pics to a live audience. This is where I come back to my opening statement. Sometimes we need to slow down.
One negative aspect of iPhone and Twitter is that I’ve stopped regularly posting to the blog. I’m too busy blurting out things I’m doing or what I’m thinking that there often is nothing left to blog that doesn’t feel like I’m repeating myself. And my photos have gone from me studying fine detail and form in upwards of ten megapixel detail to Polaroidesque snaps. I feel I’ve lost something that needs to be put back. I also feel that I’ve lost a purpose, something to look forward to. Something to provide ‘wantage’ and I think I may have found a solution to my problem.
From where I’m sat I can see a Sony DSC-T9 pocket camera that has served me well. If I was to look down the stairs I could see a Nikon D60 but I have no urge to use either of them, you see the Olympus PEN has worked its spell and got under my skin. I want one but I don’t think I need one, but there’s something about it I can’t quite see. A bit like Jack Skellington trying to work out what Christmas is.. What can it be?! What can it be?! I told Jayne who told me to just go out and buy one but I’m enjoying the mystery of it all at the moment. The feeling in the gut, the want. And why I’m still working out what this PEN is (its not a pocket camera and its not a nice big SLR) I do think that it will give me some enthusiasm to be more creative again. To make me slow down, stop and look at what’s around me.
That can only be a good thing, right?
Indeed. There is still a place for reflective blogging in addition to tweets and twitpics. I’ve made a conscious effort to write something every day for the last couple of months and I find it a useful way to unwind at the end of the day.