What would you say today to your yet to be born grandkids
Jeff Pulver raised that question at the DC 140 conference earlier this year in reference to the fact that our digital conversations via twitter/facebook and others will likely remain around forever. It is quite a powerful thought, and one that has stuck with me. I was reminded of it today when reading about the passing of Mike Wilkey AKA @UXMike. Mike was diagnosed with terminal cancer and kept tweeting to his friends up until the end. His wife took over posting during the final moments and announced to the world his unfortunate passing. It is a conversation that pulls at your heart strings.
During the Pre-phone/email/text era, much of our conversations occurred in letters. Much of what we know about the creation of the US Constitution were a result of Thomas Jefferson’s writings on the matter. In fact, John Adams accurately recognized the impact Jefferson’s writings would have on recording history, that Adams wrote Jefferson specifically at times to get Adams’ comments ‘in the record.’
Pre-social networking much of our conversation took place in the very temporary world of phone/text and email. No records of these conversations exist unless either side decides to hold onto it. And only the most famous would have much documented about them.
Now with Facebook, Twitter and more, our conversations are very public and very lasting. In just a few clicks, a note or photo about the moment can be posted as its occurring, for friends or followers to see. Since it takes so little investment of effort, we don’t put much thought into it. These snippets offer a glimpse into what we are feeling, thinking or doing at that instant.
These micro-entries into our autobiographies will provide an amazing amount of detail for those that come after us to discover and interpret. Imagine what is possible when you couple that with the incredible searching capabilities that Chris Anderson describes in his great book, ‘The Long Tail’. Future historians will be able to recreate incredibly rich documentaries of not just what happened, but how those involved felt about it. History will not only be written by the famous and powerful, but by everyone with a twitter account.
To see the powerful comments left by UXMike and his wife, along with the outpouring from those connected to him, you get a sense of who he was in a way impossible to describe in a few lines in the back of the newspaper. The social history left behind will allow Mike’s kids and grandkids experience him in a very special way almost impossible before.
My heart goes out to Mike’s family, and I hope that Mike’s impact will continue to be felt long after his unfortunate passing.
