thoughts on ambient intimacy
One of the great things about the evolving technologies of web 2.0 is the concept of “ambient intimacy”.
Leisa Reichelt coined the term “ambient intimacy” on her blog Disambiguity:
Ambient intimacy is about being able to keep in touch with people with a level of regularity and intimacy that you wouldn’t usually have access to, because time and space conspire to make it impossible. Flickr lets me see what friends are eating for lunch, how they’ve redecorated their bedroom, their latest haircut. Twitter tells me when they’re hungry, what technology is currently frustrating them, who they’re having drinks with tonight.
Yes, it’s a lot of noise. Following hundreds of friends with thousands of updates sounds daunting. But the operative word here is “ambient”. It’s like being tuned in to a custom broadcast that keeps you up to date with a select group of far-flung friends and colleagues. None of these updates require a direct response. I know who is a foodie. I know what music they are listening to. I hear when their kids are sick. I hear when new and exciting technology news breaks. They keep me up to date on current events.
I’ve never met many of these people in person, but ambient intimacy has allowed me to establish relationships with them. They are work colleagues, fellow artists, fellow geeks, IBM business partners and customers, and web 2.0 junkies. Ambient intimacy turns faceless contacts into real people … with real lives, real feelings. The interwebs are filled with interesting, vibrant, connected people, and I feel privileged that some of them have chosen to share their lives with me.
And when one of our community is killed in a senseless and tragic car accident, leaving behind a husband and two children, one a newborn, we all grieve.
It hurts. More than I would have thought possible.
Don’t discount the power of ambient intimacy. Sharing brings us closer together and makes our world smaller.
And that’s a good thing … even if it hurts sometimes.
Our thoughts and prayers are with @ashPEAmama’s family and friends.
I never got to talk to Ash on the phone or sit and have coffee with her but I did get to share my twitter experience with her. I watched as her belly grew on Flickr and read her tweets about her pregnancy and even helped with suggestions on naming her baby to be. We all rejoiced when her daughter was born. When I heard the news my heart ached and I was moved to tears. We all connect in different ways. She will be greatly missed.
That’s horrible news
Good comment on the way in which technology can keep us in touch – and even be a human experience. But such a sorrowful way to encounter the thought.
My thoughts are with you on this loss. It doesn’t matter how friends come into our lives, or how they remain in our lives, it hurts just as much when they are taken from us.
The loss of somebody you kew even in this Web 2.0 universe is sad.
At the end of the wire, there’s a human…
So sad for her and her young family left behind. Sad for you too Kelly . My prayers are right there with you.
It was after all the loss of my Dad that brought your comment to my blog.
Big Love Kelly D
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