Monkey, Man

One could sense the tension in the air. The chief scientist nervously scanned the room full of researchers. It had been six years since the first one was rolled out, and now, latest performance reports had confirmed their prognosis. “Humans are getting dumb and dumber. These apps are turning us back into apes,” he concluded.

 

As published in the blog 55WordStory on the theme "Apps for apes"

Image: Ziko, via Wikimedia Commons

Bastards!

It was just a trickle at first. Soon, it became a flow. It was beyond my control now. As the trespassing continued, I began losing my bearings.

"Get out of my head! You don't belong here," I heard myself yelling. “Hell we do,” they replied in chorus, “we are the bastards of your fertile imagination.”

As published in the blog 55WordStory on the theme "Citizens of no place"

Lovelorn

When the days always seem dark

And merge into nights of gloom;

Wandering like a lifeless soul,

You fade towards your doom.

Cherished memories, lingering dreams

Nurtured with desire and anticipation;

Alas, the heart is easily broken,

Leaving behind a treasure of emotions.

What was an affection, becomes devotion,

Unbridled, it blooms into romance,

Unrequited, it's an endless heartache.

Tame the beast

Untamed by shadows,

Untouched by darkness;

Bathed in moonlight

Awash with rays of hope.

A sense of calm,

Amidst the gloom,

Prudence and poise

Over the din of irrationality.

One step back

Yet, striding ahead.

One warm hug;

Not a clasp of ruin.

Tame the beast,
It's not a matter of choice

But the voice of reason.

My space

Sometimes I find myself alone in a tiny island. Though I am the only one around, the island is bustling with a life of its own. It fuels my desires and temptations, gives wings to my imagination. There are no rules around here, no laws that confine me. It is an oasis with a fountain of free flowing ideas. It has many given names, but I prefer 'my space'. I hope you don't mind, Mr. Timberlake. Pun not intended.

Hiatus

It was a promising start, but an unsustainable one it seems. Would love to write more but still haven't run out of excuses for not writing! Had promised myself that the next post will be up only if its written on paper first. So even though this is a compromise, it is a good one. It is a compromise with a glimmer of hope; one that prevents me from slipping into a writer's coma again! Restricted internet access in my current location makes the challenge all the more interesting. Here's hoping I can write the epitaph of my writer's block once again!

Fake you

Bonafide is the old deal
Fake is the new real
Alice Smith

Everyone must have one. It's sexy, a must-have. It's also addictive. In many cases, it is a symbol of perfection. There are some which are desirable and then a few that tread the thin line between daring and deplorable. It is high maintenance - takes a lot of time, effort and great deal of contemplation. So what's your online avatar like? Is it the real you or the fake you?

The world of social media has entered every facet of our lives. However, unlike real life, if such a thing still exists, there is no mirror in this world. It is very easy to succumb to its charm and lose one's true self. I quote from a wonderfully written piece on this topic in the blog www.simplyzesty.com:

"But as well as it being about things like constructing a perfect record of ourselves for future/current employers, it comes down to the very personal level, that the Self we choose to share online is the Self that we want others to see. The more perfect version of ourselves than might actually be the reality."

Steven Tyler, lead singer of American band Aerosmith, once said, "Fake it till you make it." I'm not sure. You may succeed at faking at orgasm. Or maybe an accent. One cannot fake creativity. It's hard to find counterfeit competence.

I was always cynical about social media. This was before I surrendered to its Utopian charm. The surrender came at a price. I suffered the FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) syndrome in the early days. Subjected myself to some shock therapy (staying off the net for extended periods) to overcome the syndrome. Normalcy was restored, but not for long. Soon, I felt like a toddler who could barely walk but dreamt of breaking Usain Bolt's world record in sprinting. Even though I could barely distinguish between blogs and wikis, I wanted to be on and use all the latest social media tools. I wanted to tweet but I could barely take the bit between my teeth on Facebook. It didn't take me long to realize that I was suffering from 'viral' fever - a strong urge to see content shared by me go viral on social media.

Just like the stock market, reputations can soar or come crashing down in social media. This holds true for brands of all sizes as well as individuals, celebrities or otherwise. The stock market has stocks, bonds, debentures, derivatives, forwards, futures, options, swaps, mutual funds and many other trading options. The social media market has blogging, wikis, micro-blogging, social networks, video sharing, photo sharing, chat rooms, podcasts, virtual worlds and numerous other options for networking.

A smart trader would choose his options wisely to suit his portfolio and to realize his investment needs. It was time to take the bull by the horns. I stopped trying to SEOize (Search engine optimize) myself. I had to judiciously pick those social media tools that would enable me to meet my personal goal of self-expression and professional goal of networking.

Social media can be a vortex that leaves a trail of destruction. Or it could be the spark of current that recharges your life. Choose wisely.

P.S. - Just love this quote by late American stand-up comedian Mitch Hedberg and can't end without using it for this piece - My fake plants died because I did not pretend to water them.