“Hey, is that camera on? I got something to say!” (Or The Map Is Not The Territory)
Everyone’s talking about money these days so when a family member sent me a link to a tv show featuring my cousin and how he made his money I was shocked but decided to watch.
My first cousin, now known to everyone, ran one of the most notorious gangs in northern California. He ended up doing 10 years in federal prison for his exploits.
Now most of the stuff on this tv show I already knew. J-Diggs and I are the same age and our families are close.
What surprised me was the fact that my cousin and other family members were willing to get on tv and talk about it.
It’s amazing to me what people will do and say in front of tv camera.
Now I tell a lot of my personal business on this blog.
Regular readers know about my ex-wives, some of my failures, some of my triumphs, and my fetish for good music. I’ve even spoken about my cousin on this blog.
But people who know me know this blog is not me.
Just like you are not your myspace page.
Or your Flickr pictures, or your Facebook profile.
You are not even your innane twitter postings.
They are just a snapshot. A peice of a map.
And the map is not the territory.
One of the cliches of modern media is some harried woman on an exploitive tv show screaming back at a booing audience “You don’t know me! You don’t know me!” seconds after we learn she has slept with her sister’s husband.
One of the problems with modern media, in all it’s forms, is that the viewer thinks it’s getting the whole story.
We make snap judgments based on a 7 minute Maury interview, an inane twitter comment, an angry blog post, or a picture of some dude smoking with a bong.
Soon we will get to the point that people will look at all this new media with the same skepticism we look at politicians and used car salesman.
Until then the problem isn’t everyone knowing your secrets.
But the fact we keep looking at maps and think we’ve seen the world.
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Tags: american gangsters, Big Brother, facebook, flickr, j-diggs, new media, Northern California, On the Web, Social network, twitter
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chartreuse 
February 23, 2009 at 1:53 pm
Wow this was a great post. One I wish I had written.
February 23, 2009 at 3:38 pm
I just found your blog today and I love it, can’t wait to read some more.
February 23, 2009 at 5:02 pm
What I like about your posts is the fact that there is always a great line in them.
“The map is not the territory.” is the one this time.
February 23, 2009 at 5:06 pm
Gangsters in your family? This is still the coolest blog!
February 23, 2009 at 8:58 pm
Nicely played!
February 23, 2009 at 10:20 pm
The whole thing is weird for me. I mean I lived in a completely different state than my first cousin and only heard of his bank robbing exploits. But I knew not to talk about it.
The fact that they are now talking about it, on tv(!) just surprises me.
I guess infamy and fame are pretty much the same thing these days.
February 24, 2009 at 2:37 pm
The dilemma I see is that people are exploiting the “worst” of themselves to gain that attention. It can’t be good for their self-esteem. Shortcuts usually backfire. And this money/fear link is terrible for our society, man.
I *love* your use of the last photo, the world “below” not on the maps in hand. Indeed.
February 24, 2009 at 3:14 pm
“The dilemma I see is that people are exploiting the “worst” of themselves to gain that attention. ”
Exactly! You are absolutely right. And I am going to steal that line because it explains part of our world so succinctly.
February 24, 2009 at 11:58 pm
I love you, baby. This is Char at his finest, and believe me, there’s none finer at this.
But good lord, give the girl a break, eh? They both look sweaty and exhausted enough that I’d call exhaustion, not provocation.
Men get to rule the world; the least you can do is let us wear our goddamned skirts in peace.
February 25, 2009 at 5:11 am
I am sure you realize that my double-entendre last line went over almost everyone’s head. You are just too smart for this blog!
Sometimes sweat and exhaustion can be provocative. Maybe not this time, but sometimes.
In any case, I will do better next time Ms. Communicatrix.
March 28, 2009 at 6:31 pm
Hello!
Very Interesting post! Thank you for such interesting resource!
PS: Sorry for my bad english, I’v just started to learn this language 😉
See you!
Your, Raiul Baztepo
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