Preface: I Don’t Hate Social Media

I will make the following disclaimer before writing the rest of this post: I don’t hate social media. I do believe in the idea of “everything in moderation”. I also believe that “just because you can, doesn’t mean you should” …which goes hand in hand with my “having a logical / strategic purpose behind every decision” theory. Social media has some some amazing things for our society. I also think it’s contributed & influenced some not so amazing things. However, if used correctly & responsibly, social media can be pretty freaking sweet.

I was at a book store last night & came across a few of my favorite sections: psychology & pop culture. Browsed through a handful of book ( Paradox of Choice, Sex Drugs & Cocoa Puffs, The Church of Facebook, The Culture of Excess)   that got me thinking…

“We are all published now. We all have a presence. We all matter. Social media allows us to express ourselves, show our accomplishments, applaud ourselves. This is done in a relatively safe environment where we don’t risk negative feedback, unless of course you’ve allowed people into your network indiscriminately or just have really mean friends. We want to be known, and it’s easier to risk this online, somehow. To allow ourselves to be truly known is the biggest risk we take in friendships and romance, fearing that we will be rejected once people see who we really are. But we tell you, fearlessly, in our blogs, tweets, status updates and emails with an openness many of us do not practice in our offline relationships.” (excerpt from Val Brown)

Hmmmm.

Waving At Strangers

The other night, we went down to the Congress Bridge to watch the infamous bats depart for their nightly flight.

We were on the bridge sidewalk, watching the people chilling in the tour boat below. After about five minutes, a handful of people in the tour boat began waving to the people on the bridge in an attempt to get them to wave back.

After about 30 seconds, the people on the bridge started waving back…the tour boat erupted in cheers. The people on the bridge then laughed awkwardly & looked around in an attempt to determine the next socially acceptable move.

So yes, this was cute. But it made me think…what is it that compels strangers to wave at other strangers in situations like these? If they were say, walking down the street or running on the trail (with the opportunity to make physical contact), there’s no way strangers would wave at other strangers, then erupt into applause once the wave was returned. But apparently, it’s a perfectly acceptable thing to do if one is at bay.

Aren’t people funny?

Riding Bikes To Shiner

The other weekend I volunteered at the Shiner G.A.S.P. – a 100 mile bike from Austin to Shiner.

We arrived around 4:45 AM to begin setting up – the parking lot had only a handful of people when we got there. Within a few hours, it looked like this:

WHOA.

There were about 1,600 riders coming from Austin (riders also started out in other cities – Houston, San Antonio, etc.)

I took video of the start of the race in an attempt to give perspective to the massive amount of cyclers. It took more than five minutes to get everyone through the start!

Once the bikers took off, we hopped in the car and began our journey to Shiner.

We drove along the same path the bikers, in case anyone needed help, a bike pump, etc. along the way. I’ve never driven through this part of Tejas, so it was quite fun to explore new Texas territories! (;

Along the way we got hungry and stopped at possibly one of the most interesting convenience stores I’ve ever stepped foot in:

One stop shopping! Blue Raspberry Mad Dog & Cat Chow! How did they know I had both those items on my list?

Cell phone chargers, cupcake sprinkles and onions!

Fruit atop the trash can? Hmmm.

I’m a sucker for good, clean (neat-looking) design…even if it’s found inside the convenience store meat cooler:

…and there we have it. That concludes the middle of nowhere Texas convenience store tour.

Continuing on…

Here I am:

…and as we can see, this is what results when I #1: Opt for Pringles as a snack, and #2 Am not the one driving and have a camera in hand. (:

We drove a little farther…passed more cyclists…coming across this woman! Did she really cycle with a dog in tow for 100 miles?

#Impressive.

Once we got to Shiner, it was BBQ time! I unfortunately did not photograph the delicious food they served us, but I did take this photo of the GIANT Shiner bottle. Holy cow.

The afternoon was full of good BBQ, music, people watching, brewery tour and another check on the Texas bucket list!

It was fun watching all the bikers ride in – I am blown away by how many hardcore cyclists there are out here. The truth is, I have minimal desire to become a cyclist; however, when thinking of the activities I am passionate about and dedicated to, I can appreciate the passion and dedication these guys have for their respective hobby.

Moving on…

Back to Austin! We look a different route, passing other neat “stereotypical Texas” places. It’s sometimes easy to forget that the rest of Texas is very different from Austin…I love getting out and galavanting through the small Texas towns – so many interesting things/places/people to see! Such as this place!

And this little downtown strip of buildings:

Before I knew it, we were already back in Austin (after a quick stop at Smitty’s in Lockhart for ice cream cones…they are only $1! How can you turn down that deal?? (:)

Antisocial Phone Tricks

I re-watched Renny Gleeson’s TED talk last night – the whole thing is good, but this one little snippet struck a chord:

“…when you’re standing with someone, and you’re on your mobile device, effectively what you’re saying to them is,”You are not as important as, literally, almost anything that could come to me through this device.”

Got me thinking. Re-evaluating a bit. What do you think?

[ted id="511" lang="eng"]

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