fb
The facebook update, and the low round of applause it brings: symptom of our meager times and meager, parent-applauded selves. “I visited the toy shop and didn’t buy anything!” Thumbs-up! “I am here where I am and can you see?!” Thumbs up! All of them! “I ate my whole dinner tonight!” Yay for you!
Desperation that inhibits work, or bends work back to the banal patter of mice running through the walls, clapping while they stop to gnaw.
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I hear tell that people with robust groups of fellow-minded academic FB-friends actually accomplish more after FB-facilitated encouragement.
Stupid medievalists.
SEK
January 15, 2010 at 3:29 am
Giovanni Tiso likes this.
Giovanni
January 15, 2010 at 3:33 am
SEK,
No of course it’s good for that sort thing.
Ads likes that Giovanni gets the performative contradiction that I’m playing with here (and in most posts lately…)
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January 15, 2010 at 10:03 am
I hope the intensity of my jealously showed there, because I am, in fact, intensely jealous of those people for whom FB leads to greater scholarly production via communication with the people one’s citing. My wife will mention she’s reading Scholar X, and one of her FB friends will mention that that was his adviser’s adviser, and the next day she receives a friend request from Scholar X and a .pdf of some previously unobtainable medieval codicil. I know the size of that scholarly community plays into its FB-effectiveness, but honestly, it’s not like the rest of us are that numerous.
Unrelatedly, I just learned that reading Ballard’s novels is a second-rate way to mainline his ideas: the short stories are where it’s at. I’m halfway through the collection, but my mind’s been all the way blown.
SEK
January 15, 2010 at 6:16 pm
what? doesn’t it help when I post lolcats pictures? If you want I could post medieval cocidils in response to your status updates.
Ads likes that Giovanni gets the performative contradiction that I’m playing with here (and in most posts lately…)
Is there a bit of voyeurism and watching-oneself-being watched going on with the facebook/3rdp thing? Kinda like mirrors on the motel room ceiling.
Sisyphus
January 15, 2010 at 11:37 pm
“I am, in fact, intensely jealous of those people for whom FB leads to greater scholarly production via communication with the people one’s citing”
During my PhD I shared an office with a chap who was writing his on videogames. A standard scenario would be that I’d enter the office whilst he was playing WoW and talking animatedly into his earphones and mic. What I would see on the screen would be a bunch of muscly armoured fellas beating up trolls or some such. Behind those avatars, they were all lecturers in the field from around the world, all seemingly intent at helping my friend with his thesis.
Giovanni
January 15, 2010 at 9:33 pm