“I know nothing with any certainty but the sight of the stars makes me dream.” ~ Vincent Van Gogh

When I think of the Internet, I usually imagine a collection of constellations.  The viewer or, in this case, the user interprets the patterns. Over time, these patterns may change and adjust but there’s always a path to follow, if you know what to look for.

My pattern is a skull (typical, I know). But, it’s a skull that lights up my otherwise dark sky. I may have a rather pessimistic view on much of the technology and social media we use everyday but I do still believe it has merit. The ideas embodied in many of the sites mentioned in my map are not inherently bad or nefarious. The free exchange of ideas and of creativity is something I still believe in and is something I still believe can be possible on these platforms despite recent examples of flaws in these systems and in ourselves and our usage/exploitation of them. I still want to believe in the dream of what the Internet can be.

As for why I represented myself as a moon, it’s because I see myself as a denizen of that space between the earth (reality) and the stars (the Internet). I’m whole and magnificent–if I do say so myself ;)–on my own but I like what I can become when the light hits me in just the right way. (My astronomical knowledge is def a little off but I think you get the gist.)

Anyway, a lot of what I see online and what I see the Internet being used for makes me want to scream but, in that same token, I also see a lot of things online and I have made a lot of things through digital means that make me want to dream. Hence the title of this piece!

But what about you?

Are you dreaming or screaming?

Shared by: helterskelliter
Image Credit: Dr. Zamora for giving me the paper to draw on...? Oh, and the course website for providing the exercise along with some questions to consider~