It was of course the subtitle of the classic 1964 film satire Dr Strangelove – How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love The Bomb! Now Phoenix Ark Press adapts it do help others realize they are not alone in the frustrations and problems of the internet. The pretty mirror of Facebook, where often we only seem to be staring at ourselves. How successful we are, how jolly happy, how beautiful or how wonderful our holidays. It is the complexity of books and story that of course allow us the more subtle, far richer human reality. Have digital platforms in fact served us up the classic fairy tale then, The Emperor’s New Clothes? By promising universal democracy, by offering us the impression of being read and heard, by allowing us to pour out our hearts and souls into the ether? Until we realize that few are listening, that our heartfelt words are being coded onto microchips, buzzing away on banks of servers, counted out in word scores on WordPress, while the only people who really benefit are the executives and geeks at the top.
So I’ve decided to stop worrying and hate my blog too, and encourage everyone to tune out and drop in, into paraphrase a 60’s guru! It isn’t true, I don’t exactly hate my blog, but it has not always been the best of friends. If it is obvious that Social Media has many benefits, that first you have to learn how to really use it, and when not to use it, it is also obvious that it has just as many problems and we all might be happier getting a life, interacting with real people, falling in love, having adventures and fun. If we are naturally social and crowd animals it is of course addictive and we find ourselves lost in a virtual world, clicking Like buttons, wanting to be part of something, and that is very often the success stories that had money in the first place to find the platform, like the Huffington Post. It can be deeply invasive too, especially for younger people, and especially out of the horror story of bullying and cruelty online, people need to be warned and protected too. It is not always true we all have to follow, there are exceptions, great success stories, but if it helps come and Like a more sceptical Phoenix Ark blog instead, then stop worrying and go and have some fun in the real world. Pop in now and then too, if you must!
In such vein, and because of the inspirational support especially of younger fans and backers over the Kickstarter Projects on Light of The White Bear and Dragon In The Post, we are beginning to remodel this site and have just put up a new Mission Statement, on the pages above, and a page about Kickstarter too. It is a warm invitation to readers, artists and writers to get very actively involved. It is also an invitation to make it all happen right now by going to the Kickstarter project Dragon In The Post and BACKING THIS PROJECT
I may get grumpy, frightened, upset, sad but I am very inspired by the young and the desire to touch reality again. Thank you.
David Clement-Davies PA PRESS
Phoenix Ark's Blog 