While breakfasting in bed this morning, I reached out for my smartphone to see if there was anything interesting on Twitter. I ended up reading assorted items about Mandela, the health service and cod-chips-and-beer. This (Twitter – not cod and chips) is a habit that is growing on me, as it gives me more tailored news and ideas than I get when I listen to the Today Programme.
But then I started thinking about what Twitter in the morning really means. It is as if I am with my friends in an 18th century coffee house (see above) discussing what we are reading in the newspaper and what we have experienced over the past week or so.
But I’m not. I’m actually peering into a small screen, occasionally glimpsing a blurry image of a friend on their Tweet.
But then I started thinking about what Twitter in the morning really means. It is as if I am with my friends in an 18th century coffee house (see above) discussing what we are reading in the newspaper and what we have experienced over the past week or so.
But I’m not. I’m actually peering into a small screen, occasionally glimpsing a blurry image of a friend on their Tweet.
What if I tried to re-create the coffee house culture with my friends and contacts in Hove?, I thought. Brighton and Hove have dozens of excellent cafés, and ever since I moved here 18 months ago I have felt an urge to spend more time in them. I would certainly do so if I knew I was likely to run into a friend or an interesting conversation there.
Joseph Highmore [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
As I continued to lie in bed, the idea started to expand and take shape: I will start by choosing a good local café, such as Slice in Church Road (www.slicesussex.co.uk/). I will then invite selected friends to join me for brunch, newspapers and talk one late Saturday morning, indicating that I want this to become a semi-regular if not weekly fixture in our diaries. The venue could change but the idea of a regular opportunity to mix talk, reading and eating would not.
I thought about sending one email to all my new friends in and around Brighton and Hove, or even creating a Meetup on the web. But I found myself leaning more towards choosing one friend at a time and exploring the idea with them – in person, by phone or via email. People might be more likely to respond to a one-to-one approach.
So that is what I am planning to do. What do you think?
Ps. If you have noticed the name of my website, or read my blog, you may have realised that these musings are intimately related with my interest in conversation and writing and in particular the “social life of documents”. I am noticing how the arrival of virtual space is turning everything upside down and inviting us to rethink how society works, just as the printing revolution did in the 16th century. Maybe the absurdity of interacting with a small screen for several hours a day will prompt some to revive face-to-face talk?
Pps. An evening “salon” is another option under consideration. Or maybe we could alternate between evening salon and brunch.
Ppps. One Tweeter makes me smile every time: @AnatomyNorbiton
I thought about sending one email to all my new friends in and around Brighton and Hove, or even creating a Meetup on the web. But I found myself leaning more towards choosing one friend at a time and exploring the idea with them – in person, by phone or via email. People might be more likely to respond to a one-to-one approach.
So that is what I am planning to do. What do you think?
Ps. If you have noticed the name of my website, or read my blog, you may have realised that these musings are intimately related with my interest in conversation and writing and in particular the “social life of documents”. I am noticing how the arrival of virtual space is turning everything upside down and inviting us to rethink how society works, just as the printing revolution did in the 16th century. Maybe the absurdity of interacting with a small screen for several hours a day will prompt some to revive face-to-face talk?
Pps. An evening “salon” is another option under consideration. Or maybe we could alternate between evening salon and brunch.
Ppps. One Tweeter makes me smile every time: @AnatomyNorbiton
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