connect

It's been a long time! I have been MIA. I got derailed from the blog by my obsession with Instagram. Which, in itself is kinda a picture blog of sorts. But, I've been thinking of posting lately. I wanted to share something that I heard this week that stuck with me. On the way home one night last week I was listening to NPR and the TED Radio hour http://www.npr.org/programs/ted-radio-hour/ which if you have time, check out. But the broadcast that night was an old one from a TED 2011 talk by Eric Whitacre. Eric Whitacre is a composer and he got the idea to start a "virtual choir" on you tube. You guys might have seen his videos. I had not, but listening to his idea on the way home it sounded pretty awesome. He posted the music to a new song he composed online and then people from all over the world performed their parts - tenor, soprano, alto, etc. in their homes and recorded it and sent it to him. Then with his team, they put all the voices together and made a virtual choir. There are over 2,000 voices from all over the world. Now, ignore the strange "new age" type vibe going on here lol. I think it's amazing!



During his talk about this project, he said he thinks that what makes people really react to this is that during it all, the people who submitted their parts and were a part of this really felt a connection with the others involved. They felt like they were a part of something and it was exciting. It got me to thinking; i mean isn't this what "social networking" is kinda about? Making connections with people? I know this is why i love Instagram! I follow folks (mostly dogs) from all over the world and am invited into their world in 2inx2in photos. And, when you think about it, it seems a little silly to be posting photos of my dog 24/7, but it's more than that. It's a little community in which I play a part and connect with others around the world...even if it's in tiny 2inx2in frames. I look forward to seeing what happens in the lives of @poppysausage, @ginny_jrt both in the UK; @krisbsix in South Korea - who just had her first child and we all got to follow along as her fluffbaby Bunja met him for the first time! (ADORDABLE!) And, I love the drama of Acquolina and Burton, the JRT's in Italy posted by @justelle. Closer to home, I started following pups named Murphy with @kourtneyfromks, Charger in Wisconsin with @sweetsugar37 and three little furry friends Zoie, Bailey and Sophie with @tofuwarrior.  It's a little odd because I don't really know any of these folks that I connect with every day in the sense that we've been able to hang out or see each other except through our photos, but it's connections with people that count I think.

But, when I was thinking about all of this, I got to wondering...how many connections with people am I missing every day because I'm not looking around? I connect with IGers because I tap into my app every day. But, then get on the elevator with people and don't give a smile or a nod or even a hello because I guess I forgot that they are people too. I guess I'm just saying that we social network online but then "offline" just keep our heads down and don't show any kindness because we don't "know" those people. I just wonder why it's hard for us to connect with people every day in our daily lives. Most days the only interactions with people we remember are the bad ones! The people who cut us off in traffic or someone being rude, and it's actually surprising when someone is just genuinely nice or helpful.

So, in thinking about the virtual choir and instagram and how it's the connections with others that make these things awesome, I'm gonna try to do a better job of smiling at people, being friendly and not acting like they are irritating me to death on the elevator. I'm gonna try to make connections with people i see every day instead of just keeping my head down. Maybe just saying something nice to one person a day could be a start and it might not mean anything to anyone, but then again it might make a difference.

 I'll let you know how it goes lol! (and this doesn't mean i'm giving up my Instagram addiction! no way! i'll just have more to post!)