07 November 2011

I Want you To think That I'm A cool person...But let's Be Real

 I went to the BlogWorld Expo this last week in Los Angeles, courtesy of my university. I'm part of a student group that stared up a podcast (http://artsandfacts.blogspot.com - you should check it out) and the university sent us to BlogWorld in hopes that we would learn all kinds of ways to improve said podcast.

BlogWorld was a whole new experience for me. I was surrounded by people who were constantly connected to the internet, and to each other, via laptop computers and handheld devices and smart phones on Facebook and Twitter and YouTube and Foursquare and who freaking knows what else. As I have no money for a smart phone or laptop or mobile device of any kind, I felt a little left out. (confession: my phone is a flip phone from three years ago with a broken hinge and my laptop is six years old and won't turn on because it no longer recognizes the power cord, so it lurks under my bed and collects dust) So there I was, walking around the L.A. Convention Center, which had become a central hub of technology gurus overnight, with the fear that if anyone found out how technologically retarded I was (I mean, I don't even have a Twitter account), they would throw me out on the spot and banish me from the interweb forever more.

As long as I was able to keep this dark secret concealed, BlogWorld was pretty awesome. ^__^

The people at BlogWorld had an infectious energy of innovation that made you think that you were unstoppable, that obstacles were irrelevant, and that nothing was impossible. Self-promoted entrepreneurs and independent contractors, writers and researchers and business men/women, all making their visions become realities. I attended nearly a dozen lectures in two days that boosted my internet savvy, showed me how to create a community/network, why that's important, how to get involved in other communities/networks and the amazing things that can result thereby. Did you know, there are people out there making $140k a year just off of their blog? There's a fellow making almost $2k a week selling his ebook online. But the benefits are not just monetary (although that was a main emphasis), there are people who have worked on phenomenal projects with amazing people and met their heroes, and it all started with reaching out to like-minded people on the internet.

I felt enlightened, empowered, and inspired. Together, we can make Arts and Facts the most amazing art history podcast ever! (yeah!) And I can make my personal blog more engaging and attract more followers! (yeah!!) I can harness my anti-social tendencies and get more connected to an online community of friends and artist and creative minds! (yeah!!) I can up my art skillz and make money off said skillz online so I can quit my soulless job of "customer service" which consists of me telling customers that they trapped themselves in a brutal, unforgiving contract that will demand money from them in return for a service that is about as useful as a wooden frying pan. (YEAH!!)

And then I came home. And I remembered. That my life. Sucks.

I have bills, a tiny cluttered dirty apartment, no laptop, no smart phone, no skillz, a full-time job so I'm stinking tired all the time, and it is effing snowing.

Conclusion: BlogWorld, I miss you. Thank you for all you taught me and I promise to utilize those lessons to better my economic situation, get some Apple gear, make Spring in Utah last for seven months of the year (the other five will be dedicated to Autumn), and maybe even solve world hunger. I will strive to keep your ideals of empowerment and equal opportunity in my heart and mind, despite my bland, soul-sucking, cubicle-wall surroundings. And above all, I will forever appreciate the mounds and mounds of free swag.

^__^

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