It’s been over a year since my last blog entry!  Well I suppose that speaks volumes to the importance of the virtual world in my life.  Or more  specifically, to  my sense that the  vast proliferation of stuff that people cast out into the world through blogs, facebook, twitter and the like adds little that is of enduring value.  So where is the value in these media? 

Well, one obvious aspect is the entertainment value.  I do find several of the online media I follow to be entertaining.  To each one’s own about how much virtual entertainment (adding the huge world of video games, TV, etc.) one wants (needs?) in a day.  Yet I am amazed at some of the reports I’ve read about the number of hours people devote to these things.  What are you NOT doing with your life with the time you are devoting to the unreal world?

Another obvious positive  value to some media is the ability to create and maintain connections with others.  In this regard, the social media (like facebook) can be much more efficient at maintaining connections than individual contact.  By this point in my life, there really are quite a few people about whom I feel especially warm and fuzzy.  I enjoy seeing little bits of news about their lives and adventures.

In my own (infrequent) contributions to Facebook, I try to be combine both values above – writing something that will be both entertaining to others and/or that will deepen people’s connection to me. 

As to this blog, my own goal is to add a third dimension to the entertainment/connection equation:  enrichment.  I’m trying to put, into a few words, ideas that might impact the reader’s life in a positive way.  This isn’t meant to be a grandiose goal.  It’s just that I believe that even the tiniest shift in the way one sees the world, and themselves, can ultimately have a big impact.  Maybe some words written down here will catalyze that tiny shift for someone.