I find myself at an interesting crossroads of late reading two completely different forms of nonfiction which are making question what direction my personal journey will take in the next few years. I am taking a course in social software right now so am spending time exploring the virtual realm through projects and reading about topics from Facebook to blogging and tweeting. Some applications I can see using and other feel a little too out there at the moment. As a result of all this exploration I picked up John Palfrey and Urs Gasser’s Born Digital: Understanding the First Generation of Digital Natives and am enjoying it. I am sharing little bits with the world through my other blog, Social Intelligence, which is the blog for my social software course. Born Digital talks about the differences between those that have grown up with the internet and that level of constant connectivity and the digital immigrants, who still more comfortable offline. I don’t know if I will ever completely give up sending snail or text and post blog entries from my cell phone so I know I am not a digital native. I still live a good portion of my life offline reading actual books and working cross-stitch, etc.
The other book I am reading is about a connection to the land and in the case of this story that land is Ireland. The Red-Haired Girl From the Bog: The Landscape of Celtic Myth and Spirit by Patricia Monashan is about her exploration of her Irish heritage and the importance of knowing where you come from. As someone who has moved every 3 years I wonder whether I need to make a trip to the British Isles to connection with my family heritage or take an opportunity to see Romania to get a better understanding of where my forbearers came from. She talks about feeling a connection to Ireland fairly soon after arriving on it’s shores even though she had never been there before. If you choose this book for a book club check out www.garravogue.com.
Tags: Born Digital, celtic myth, digital immigrants, digital natives, family, family stories, Ireland, personal exploration, personal growth, spirit world, technology, The Red-Haired Girl From the Bog
