To those who decry the Internet for its lack of connection, I ask, “How does something that enables you to communicate with people equal lack of connection?” We (well, most of us) don’t convey private messages via billboards: those are entrusted to letters. In the same way, we make choices about what we communicate via e-mail or telephone versus the things we put out into a public forum like a blog or Facebook. Different tool, different use.

As a box of tools, the Internet may not have the same trappings as other forms, but it is no less personal. The use of pixels on a screen to convey meaning does not depersonalize any more than the use of a typewriter rather than a Bic – or a Bic rather than a fountain pen. Yes, the mode of delivery is different, but the words are the same. And I believe firmly it is the words that convey the most meaning (well, I would, wouldn’t I?). Does a note delivered via UPS have a different meaning than one delivered by the postal service?

And these tools not only allow us to convey meaning, but to find that which is meaningful. That tiny bit of public census data is meaningless to all but a tiny subset of humanity: and yet, you found it and it conveyed something precious to you. Even better, you could see it without traveling halfway across the country.

To me, that is the essence of connection.

And I’m not sure I’ve ever met more surly postal employees than the ones that live under the bridge in downtown Hollis.

Miss you terribly. Hope to see you soon.

Joe