By Matthew Gillis
I think it’s safe to say that all of us have experienced a time when the technology we take for granted suddenly stops working. Luckily enough, it’s happened to me more than once in the past week.
The exact moment in which you discover that the technology is broken becomes filled with emotions: shock, wondering how something you’re so dependent on is even capable of breaking, panic over how to fix it, and anxiety over being yelled at by your mom for “not appreciating anything you get.”
On Friday, my digital camera stopped working, and yesterday, my Internet wouldn’t load Delicious’ webpage (which is ironic, due to the fact that this was the only webpage I needed to access).
This range of emotions that came with the frustration of my nonfunctioning technology got me thinking about my dependence on technology. I was feeling all of these things at once because I knew I needed to use this technology but had no knowledge of how to fix it.
In an age where everything in our lives exists through technology or is online, how do we face the inevitable glitches? Are we putting everything important to us at risk in the hands of a technology that is bound to have flaws?
Today, after my Internet finally let me access Delicious, I perused the site and found myself particularly fond of its overall purpose. In essence, the site acts as a digital bookmark for everything and anything you find interesting on the web.
After bookmarking several websites, blogs, and articles and creating “stacks” that pertain to my interests, I became intrigued at its feature of putting everything I selected in one designated place. I could put everything I found on the web on my own single profile. Everything.
From variability, in which each user can customize his or her individual stacks, to hypermedia, which allows users to connect media to their profile, Delicious is the embodiment of the principles of new media as described by Lev Manovich in “The Language of New Media.”
I can’t help but wonder if Delicious and similar sites, like Pinterest, are slowly replacing traditional pen and paper bookmarking. While I find it to be a very beneficial tool, I feel a sense of reluctance to put everything of importance on a technology I know nothing about.
In summarizing my concerns, I turn to Danah Boyd‘s article “Incantations for Muggles: The Role of Ubiquitous Web 2.0 Technologies for Everyday Life,” in which she writes, “As you build technologies that allow the magic of everyday people to manifest, I ask you to consider the good, the bad, and the ugly.”
I can only imagine the day when my digital bookmarking tool, which could eventually become a place for not only my favorite sites to be stored, but also my entire reality, stops working.
I doubt then that the worst of my problems would be my mother’s reaction.
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If you’re interested in other media and technology-related blogs, which I follow using Google Reader, check out: Technology in the Arts, CNN Tech, New York Times: Technology, Technology Review, and The PhotoArgus.
Communication Photog 
I think everyone feels this pain once in a while in our digital society. Being a wee bit technical myself, I would like to hear your thoughts on the what I think is a growing plague of your generation; instant availability, the expectation that everyone you know should be instantly available whether via mobile phone, social media, etc. Matt please pick up your phone!! Your Mom is calling, your girlfriend is calling, your uncle wants to cook you dinner!! Great stuff Matt.