Comments on: Facebook and Time http://www.theodigital.com/2011/09/facebook-and-time.html missional theology. digital media ecology. biscuits and gravy. Sat, 28 Apr 2012 01:29:12 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 By: David Scroggins http://www.theodigital.com/2011/09/facebook-and-time.html/comment-page-1#comment-1954 David Scroggins Sat, 24 Sep 2011 22:02:13 +0000 http://www.theodigital.com/?p=997#comment-1954 i like these thoughts, chris, but doesn't this still bode the question: *who* is adding or removing the layers? and *why* are they doing so? these are, as you well know, somes of the questions of so-called postmodern historians and theorists. to me, facebook is simply mirroring what these theorists have already argued for, namely, that we speak to and create the past always as a voice from the future. i embrace the notion of an "infinite world of information" generating "infinite ways to tell the story." to me, the beauty of both language and technology (very general terms, but i'll let them stand for simplicity's sake) is that they are both excessive, much like desire - generating worlds that are always beyond our immediate perception and simple quantification or chronicling. but do layers simply "float to the top"? or does someone, some entity, some collective, enforce or determine which layers are most likely to float? i don't know, for me, it always comes back to questions such as this. and i'm resistant to seeing zuckerberg as an altruistic player in this. the establishing of layers of history or reality seems to always reveal a series of struggles or contests, and i suspect facebook - based my perspective on zukerberg's biography and facebook's own questionable stance toward freedom of information and privacy - of being on the opposite side of myself or individuals or freedom or some nebulous concept that resembles these ideals. that being said, the complexity of these data layers certainly does carve out spaces from which alternative narratives can be constructed that resist the machinations of corporations such as facebook, so, i don't want to simply present a sort of antagonistic reading as the only possibility. but i am and remain suspicious of how facebook has approached altering "our" conception of history. there is a difference between challenging linear chronology to reveal the irreducible complexity of interpersonal dynamics and manipulating linear chronology to alienate users from controlling their own productions and interactions. i guess ultimately, this is me saying we should catch up. hope you're well! ttyl. i like these thoughts, chris, but doesn’t this still bode the question: *who* is adding or removing the layers? and *why* are they doing so? these are, as you well know, somes of the questions of so-called postmodern historians and theorists. to me, facebook is simply mirroring what these theorists have already argued for, namely, that we speak to and create the past always as a voice from the future. i embrace the notion of an “infinite world of information” generating “infinite ways to tell the story.” to me, the beauty of both language and technology (very general terms, but i’ll let them stand for simplicity’s sake) is that they are both excessive, much like desire – generating worlds that are always beyond our immediate perception and simple quantification or chronicling. but do layers simply “float to the top”? or does someone, some entity, some collective, enforce or determine which layers are most likely to float? i don’t know, for me, it always comes back to questions such as this. and i’m resistant to seeing zuckerberg as an altruistic player in this. the establishing of layers of history or reality seems to always reveal a series of struggles or contests, and i suspect facebook – based my perspective on zukerberg’s biography and facebook’s own questionable stance toward freedom of information and privacy – of being on the opposite side of myself or individuals or freedom or some nebulous concept that resembles these ideals. that being said, the complexity of these data layers certainly does carve out spaces from which alternative narratives can be constructed that resist the machinations of corporations such as facebook, so, i don’t want to simply present a sort of antagonistic reading as the only possibility. but i am and remain suspicious of how facebook has approached altering “our” conception of history. there is a difference between challenging linear chronology to reveal the irreducible complexity of interpersonal dynamics and manipulating linear chronology to alienate users from controlling their own productions and interactions.

i guess ultimately, this is me saying we should catch up. hope you’re well! ttyl.

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