Intersections
Holidays bring people together in unexpected ways, and there are locations, hubs so to speak, where these intersections happen; places where people gather and happen upon old friends, new friends, and familiar faces. Last night I was at one of these places, and talked with the bartender about this phenomena, and how without these hubs, a major cultural shift would occur.
I was there to meet with Bruce and Annie of Flingcosound. They generously gave me some items from their catalog, including The Black Box – a sort of black metal themed sound device. It was great to hear about all the things they were up to, and we discussed some interesting ideas about publishing, surviving as an ‘artist’ (in a very broad sense), and how to connect people and ideas.
Similar to the phenomena of the location we were at, there exists metaphorical hubs where people’s interests gather, and this concept provides a lot of hope for publishing in any medium. These intersections are important to recognize, not only for how they function socially, but for the intrinsic value they have for each of us and our interests.
Posted in News
November 30th, 2009 at 8:28 pm
it does provide hope. did you see clay shirky’s article on bookstores?
http://www.shirky.com/weblog/2009/11/local-bookstores-social-hubs-and-mutualization/
a similar idea (though more physical than metaphorical) — the future of retail stores is about creating good convergence points for people with similar passions to come together. under the guise of a coffee shop, bar, bookstore, etc. when passionate people hang out, tunes/ideas are sold.
my physical hub this thanksgiving was on a plane sitting next to a guy from L.A. who has sold me on at least two bands already.
November 30th, 2009 at 10:16 pm
“Sold you on two bands” is a great example of the metaphorical space. If you continued to talk to this person, you’d continue to visit that ‘place’ as you created a hub with specific interest points within it.
At least airplanes aren’t the physical hub. There’s much more relaxing places!
It will be interesting to see how people develop these places and the kinds of things they involve in them.
November 30th, 2009 at 10:21 pm
Also, re: the Shirky article, it seems that maybe the bookstore model is hopeless, and the Library model should be revisited. No store can house their inventory, and there are seemingly endless workshops and events that could bring people together with ideas there every day, if done right, and creatively sustainable.