Taking the Macro view it’s back to work right now for thousands of people around the world as the holiday season is draws to a close. As a Westerner, for the Dark Mistress this is a time of living out those New Year resolutions – exercise, weight-loss, de-stressing, etc, and, being behind a digital media desk, it is also a chance to do nutso stuff like keyword analysis. This of course, is very different from the other 70% of folk in less developed countries who are hatching plans to dodge the dudes with guns, get crops happening, and try to feed the family. It was kind of cool therefore to open LinkedIn this morning and stumble upon a project that reflects the validity of all lives – whatever, and wherever they are.
On 11/11/11 – this November, people around the world are being asked to capture their lives using film, photography and music. Whatever you are doing – scam, cajole or borrow a Handycam and shoot it. Send it in to the 11eleven project and they will make it in to a doco, a photo book, and a music album – all due to be launched on World Peace Day 21st September 2012. The organizers were inspired by the 80’s film Koyaanisqatsi, – which gave the viewer a God’s-eye-view of the human ant colony below. It’s kind of a time capsule in pictures. It celebrates common humanity and it’s for the charities that are supporting the UN Millennium Development Goals. Check it out at www.11elevenproject.com.
What do you do in your day-to-day life that you’d put in a video for posterity? Will anyone out there show some of the crazy cat-and-mouse stuff we do in the virtual/digital world? Or, are you in a caring profession – will you show some of the modern life illnesses that you deal with every day?
One of the most interesting challenges in digital media is the shrinking globe – we are constantly presented opportunities to have services done in places like Vietnam or the Philippines. Through technology, things have changed a lot since Koyaanisqatsi (sub-titled “Life out of Balance), was filmed in 1982. Do you remember when the overseas telemarketers started calling? It somehow felt extra bad to hang-up on a telemarketer when they were based in the Philippines; yet we’ve all done front-line sales and these roles are highly sought-after no matter what country you are in. When it comes to more technical programming work we’ve found highly-skilled professionals in countries that would have been considered “developing” only 30 years ago. The world has shrunk, and Western business is engaged with the “developing” world like never before.
So what would the human ant colony look like when viewed from above today? A larger number of us of all creeds and colours would be in front of screens.
A lot of our activity would now be in seen in movement of data not goods. More and more of us, in more countries, and in an ever increasing array of professions are right here – in front of a small silver screen.
This is not to ignore the huge number of citizens of the world who remain unaffected by the digital revolution, but we hope that the makers of the 11elevenproject get videos that reflect the lives of those that are. The digital world is a crazy place, but it is making positive change happen.
Progress Update
Weight-loss Status Update: Cracked and had my first cooked food this week – I think it was a good choice. Am trying the old eat-chili/speed-up-your-metabolism trick. Still gaining…
Fitness Status Update: Conquered the first run, and started swimming again.
Stress Relief Status Update: Impossibly relaxed.
Yours,
The Dark Mistress
The Balance Blog – A reflection on virtual life versus embodied life; ostensibly finding sunshine, holistic fitness, natural weight-loss and stress relief for an obsessed workaholic screen addict, with the occasional dig at the World Wide Web.
