Indicators And Informed By Who You Know

 One of the more interesting factors about becoming a Digital Recluse is the fact that one's flow of information is largely informed by  the indicators that one sees and by who one follows.  It strikes me that this is the way things used to work once upon a time before the advent of the InterWeb or even of the concept of a media:  indicators were the signs the weather and the wildlife and people and goods one was familiar with and information was exchanged with ones friends and neighbors in the vicinity.

By either metric, I get the idea that folks are none too happy out there.

On the indicator front the  economic news, from what I can see in the markets and reporting, seems to look a bit silly.  And concerning.  A Brick and Mortar game store in an age of games delivered by e-mail rises 34% in value before crashing, driven up by a whipped up InterWeb Craze.  An Oil pipeline is canceled and not surprisingly jobs are lost; no idea what those folks will do nor do I get the impression that a whole lot of individuals that said they were for "working folk" care whether or not they find other jobs.  Rent and loan repayments continue to be deferred, the elephant in the room that everyone knows will have to be dealt with some day although no-one is willing to say how.  And, of course, the continuing course of the economic woes driven by The Plague.

On the "informed by who you know" front, there is a certain tension running between the lines, a sense that something is going to happen - waiting to happen - and that it is just a matter of time before it does.  Or a complete decision to go very, very quiet.   And some of this people that on the whole, I would consider sane and thoughtful individuals.

These are only impressions of course, vague reflections of events as seen by those that I follow.  And of course depending on your sample size, it will definitely impact how your data appears - so there is not necessarily a great deal to read into it other than "interesting" (On the informed by who you know part.  The economic indicators seem a lot more solid - and alarming).

But interestingly, the other sense I get - rather an overwhelming one - is the sense of a lot of people getting their houses in order.

They are doing it quietly, on the side, not advertising it out in the big wide world (but thankfully, they do write about it and thanks to the InterWeb we can benefit from them).   In some sense just getting on with their lives, but in another getting on with them the way individuals that expect a long bad winter or a merciless summer do.

With determination.  With a quiet, grim speed.  And with a silent efficiency.

This is the sort of thing, were I in a position of power or authority, that would worry me.  It is not when people are out complaining or yelling that there is a real issue.  It is when they have gone silent but you know there are steadily busy in the background doing things - things that they are not talking about.  

Because they are no longer talking to you or the larger society.  They are working as if you did not have the ability to impact their lives.

In this case of course, it can be nothing nefarious.  Folks plant gardens or make things (candles, for example) or do home and property improvements or learn a new skill or even save money.  All quite legal and proper.  But they are not out there talking about it or advertising it on Social Media, making a production about what they have done.  They just quietly carry on doing it.

Sometimes, you can learn a lot by simply stopping and listening to what is around you instead of always training your eyes over the horizon.