A dozen or so times a day, I figuratively puke all over my iPad Air, out of disgust when reading stories that are plagiarism aggregated, rumors that source nothing more original than some blog or would-be news site, or an echo chamber of repetition—news posts repeating the same, unsourced or poorly-sourced allegations. But occasionally, original content shines through, like Josh Lowensohn’s “I used Apple’s AirDrop to troll strangers with photos of space sloths (And it’s been going on for months)” for The Verge.
Josh doesn’t recap another blogger’s experience, by aggregating something original into a shallow repeat. He produces something enthralling, a story told with vigor, drawn from experience. It’s a confessional. About something sneaky. Invasive. Maybe even illegal. But fun, and activity the reader might wish he or she had been clever enough to have imagined or fearless enough to have done.
He coops technology meant for one purpose to another: Sending strangers sloths. “Not just any sloths, but sloths wearing spacesuits”. I don’t write an aggregation post, so won’t explain further. Do Josh and yourself a favor by reading his account.
Save Us From Ourselves
As a seasoned technology journalist, I say this: The best stories come from day-to-day experience. Twenty-First-Century human beings, like it or not, live digital lifestyles. We are sociologists—heck, anthropologists—of tech culture. The devices and services we consume are part of us. They define us. Extend us. Enable us. Most other appliances are touched and forgotten. Like the toaster. The refrigerator. The radio.
But PC, smartphone, or tablet are hugely personal devices. They mean something to us, as hubs of communication, interaction, and personalization. Google Glass, smartwatch, and virtual assistants are among the things to bind with us. As are services like Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Reddit, Tumblr, or Twitter, among others. So on and so on.
At the juncture where cloud connected devices and services create context for our lives, or adapt them, is where the best experiential, first-person tech journalism can illuminate how we as individuals and communities are changing.
The Internet needs more original content. There is too much rumor and speculation, spreading wildfires of misinformation across the online landscape. We burn alive every day from the regurgitation of sameness—one story flash-firing after another original, lively storytelling. Give me more stories like Josh’s, which freshness doses the flames of sameness, while making the interaction of technology, people, values, and horseplay the whole point.
If a space sloth ever pops up on my iPad, I will find you, Josh, and shake your hand. Coffee, perhaps, and a little more AirSothing?
Photo Credit: Fernando Flores