Doug's posterous

My Wife Is Not Google

I've had a lot of ponderous moments lately after listening to the audio version of "The Shallows" by Carr and starting into "Cognitive Surplus" by Shirky, I've been asking myself, "What has the Internet...and more specifically Google..done to MY brain?"

1. The Internet has made me a great party favor among my less digerati friends, "Hey iphone boy...what year did Diver Down come out?" (seconds later...the answer via google)
2. The Internet has enabled the thought stream pouring from my mind to outpace the ability of my fingers to to keep up when typing.
   
3. The Internet has given me awareness of just how fast things are moving and how difficult it is for businesses to keep up.  If you aren't immersed...how COULD you keep up?
4. The Internet has taught me that more information is not what makes one more valuable.  What makes one valuable is the ability to filter the vast yet growing torrent of available attention grabbers (data/media/information) into meaningful trends, analyses, and decisions.

There are more items too numerous to list that I can attribute to the web.

But I think what's most important is that I've learned that my wife is not Google.  I have over the last few years I've increasingly applied the same "Google Modalities" to interactions with my wife. 

1. Give me instant answers.
   
2. Be efficient.
3. Be always on.
4. I Always find what I'm looking because I'm a good searcher.
   
5. I rarely pay attention to page 2.
6. The answers to any question about me, my schedule, and my thoughts are out there in the cloud for you to see.

What I'm learning is that the more I treat my wife like Google...the more like the Google Algorithm I become.  The cold mechanized assimilation of bits to create a self-aware consciousness is no way to cultivate wonder with your mate.

I'm making some changes to be less connected and more "available and engaged" vs. just "being there"...not because I've been asked to...but because I'm certain it's the right thing to do.