LinkedIn

I've been sending out the email below all morning, and I thought I'd put it here too. There's an amusing Montaigne essay from this episode that wants to be written but right now wouldn't be prudent.

Hello

If you received a Linkedin invite you are one of a hundred or so other people who were invited without my involvement or consent.

I haven't established the exact cause but an early guess is an unauthorized auto invite/add addresses script was invoked or alternatively my account was hacked.

Sincerely

Charles Frith

Courage

Via Daria and apropos this post and this tweet.

On Success and Failure

This may be a minority view that is indulgently and definitively littered with self referential contradiction, but I do know that Mr Armano has a similar perspective, so I'm not alone on this and so here goes. 

The propensity to indiscriminately use the word FAIL on twitter is surely incongruous with our times? Don't the brilliant (and arguably culturally important) W&K urge us to embrace failure? 


Surely there's so much to be critical and deeply concerned with in these pressing times that deserve a real sense of urgency and even justified anger?


What like?


Well, there's a strong case for George Bush and Tony Blair to face a war crimes tribunal for a judgement of truth about weapons of mass delusion? ..FAIL.. 


We appear to be living in a consumption frenzy (particularly in consumer Consumer CONSUMER electronics) that logically concludes with our species consuming ourselves. 


Haven't thought about that? BIG FAILURE$


Aren't you mad with the Burmese authorities preventing aid getting to their people after a devastating cyclone? FAIL....


What's your view on the earthquakes in Indonesia happening so alarmingly frequently that hardly anyone comments on them? 


Not important?  *FAIL*


What about serial typhoons in the Philippines then. Is that a {FAIL}? 


OK, then what's your view on our melting ice caps that will take out the Maldives alarmingly soon while our our internet carboon footprint exceeds that of the aviation business globally? ~ FAIL~. 


Something a bit closer to home and perversely a bit more intangible? What about the printing presses floating Sterling and Dollar currencies so we can hold the undeveloped world in an economic hologram trap of poverty and squalor? Ever thought about money as simulacrum? You should do. You really should and thus.....FAIL$ 


A toothless United Nations? FAIL# 


US & Israeli (both nuclear powers) largest ever war exercises under the leadership of a Nobel Peace Prize winner...Not bothered? FAIL%%%


Look around you. Noticed the greed, obesity and commensurate starvation? ^FAIL^


The list goes on and on doesn't it.


Shouldn't these be the issues we need to be indignant about? The ones we should SHOUT and CAPITALIZE our tweets for instead of a failed iPhone app or a subjective and erroneous view on a logo that is fully explained here and here but not here.


I don't care if your consumer electronics FAIL on YOU.


...and go easy on the gratuitous linking too because guess what? The information age means there's far more interesting stuff on the net than a person could ever hope to devour. It's the real reason you've stopped reading books isn't it?

If you like something. I'm happy for you. If something is pissing you off write a blog post or something but please stop filling up my twitter stream with garbage sentiment and garbage subjectivity and do share with me more of the trivial stuff like if you're having a nice cup of tea or have just broken wind in a lift. 


And please.......don't ever capitalize those letters with the solipsist rage of an ostensibly pampered and self indulgent confusion with tardy marketing comprehension.

Update: I see the infinitely more authoritative Anil Dash has similar feelings.