Thoughts from a hotel bar

I am sitting in the corner of the hotel bar listening to people talk at the end of their work days. The people I can hear are two American guys sitting with beers getting deep and meaningful but still trying to maintain their manliness. And a man and a woman who appear to be colleagues speaking Belgian in their late 40s or early 50s, and every time she looks away, he looks at her chest and licks his lips.

It is interesting listening to conversations that I can't understand other than the bod language that is coming through their reactions to what is being said. In many ways, it is much more precise than the words as the movements give away their intentions, what is going on through their minds. At least, that is the game I play in my own head.

I wonder what they think of me sitting here on a Monday night alone and tapping away at a keyboard?

Ah, btw. I have decided that now that there is the condenser and wallet split I am able to log into Steem on my work laptop as there is only the chance of using my posting key here, I will never log into the wallet. That makes things easier perhaps than writing on the phone while travelling. This will be the first post from my work computer so, for those that think it is harder with the wallet split away, for me at least it gives me more options with less risk.

There are also two women talking together out just out of earshot. Well, only one of them is really talking and the other is listening to the other seemingly complain about her life. All I can hear is that the complainer is Australian - twangy.

I have quite enjoyed the "alone time" in the hotels as I have travelled over the last few months as it gives me a chance to just chill a little.. No, the trips are far from unstressed considering the workload and in some cases, the risk involved but - I get to be a little bit more of me. The me I was that used to sit in cafes sketching while sipping a cappuccino. Tonight I have a light Chianti.

Sounds so snobby doesn't it?

I am far from one of those people that gives a shit about the minor variations in the quality of this or that, I am not a consumer of that level and I have very rarely met a red wine I can't enjoy at some level. I quite enjoy simple things, the basics in life and I hope that one day I am going to be able to afford a simple and comfortable life. I don't mean doing it rough and having to live life alone in the woods with nothing but the bears and birds, but a small, well appointed home with a few creature comforts and a nice view. Somewhere where I am happy to be without having to do much of anything.

Perhaps when Steem finally does something significant in a few years, I will be able to try my hand at writing "professionally" meaning, for the fun of it alone. I used to enjoy writing fiction stories but I haven't written many in the last year or so as my mind wandered away from it and toward Steem related topics. I really enjoy writing on Steem and I enjoy writing about Steem.

It won't last of course. The self-referential content of Steem will slowly taper off as the platform grows and matures and then the niche content applications come in with a great deal of diversity and attention grabbing contributors. there are some talented people here now but that is going to increase in time also. However, I also think that the social relationship factors of Steem will be very important for a long time to come and that'll mean, real people will always have a place to go and share their world, talk about their things and still have a good chance of reward. There is value past the reward though.

Unlike sitting in this hotel bar tonight, Steem is a place where all kinds of different people can come together and discuss and respond if they choose without being forced to interact at all. Yes, there are benefits to interaction on Steem because this is platform of relationships but, no one is forced to do anything on Steem at all. And, everyone is always free to leave. Opt in or opt out, the choice is for the individual.

While people love and hate Steem seemingly simultaneously, it does appear that is sticky enough that the haters are still here trying to point out the flaws. Why do they see it of so much importance? Yep, they are attention seekers to and this is the attention economy at play. I think this is another factor on Steem as the world disconnects from each other on the other social platforms - people are attention starved while they pay attention to all the other things that are designed and refined to grab their eyeballs. There is very little real on the internet.

What I like on Steem is that some people are willing to put themselves out there a bit, talk about their lives without sugar coating it or engineering it for likes and hearts. Sure, some people do it for the money and why shouldn't they but, there is more to it than that isn't there? People are people and people who are people like to talk about people things, the things that affect them, the things that worry them, the things that scare them.

A lot of the talk about price is not about the moon and Lambos, it is about the hope that there is still a chance that life will work out, that some of those simple pleasures could one day be available or at least, not completely out of reach. The simple life where some of the struggle is eased and maybe, a kid or two can grow up in a world without the worry of where the next meal will come from or, whether their parents will be evicted next month. Hope is trying to mitigate fear of the other side.

The guys talking about their lives, their kids and their work, the girl complaining about her childhood in Australia, and even the guy with the wandering eyes are looking for something, looking for someone to listen to them, hear them and perhaps, make them feel a little less lonely in a world where people would rather stare at a screen scrolling through the photoshopped lives of strangers, than talk to the person next to them at the cafe.

The online digital attention economy is booming not because of compelling content but rather, so many people are lonely, sitting behind screens looking the wrong way to fill a void they feel while they keep on asking themselves, is this the way life should be?

Taraz
[ a Steem original ]