It’s been a sombre week in many ways. Despite the hopes for a more positive and happier year, in the last couple of weeks there have been some sad losses, and one this week particularly heart breaking, and on that I will say no more. So, have felt little inclination to get out and about.

But, Luke recently wrote a piece on his personal blog questioning how much time he spends on the Internet. He makes some very relevant and incisive observations regarding the value of Facebook, it’s pervasiveness, and it’s meaning in our lives. You can read it here.

Like him, I have no issue with Facebook personally, or how much time I do or don’t spend on there. My view is that today’s society is now so disparate, and our friends and loved ones often so dispersed, that given the lack of community in the traditional sense, we seek to forge our communities through other means. We all need to reach out, and we do so via the web.

And why not? My cyber relationships are no less important than my ‘real life’ ones, and indeed, the support one receives from cyber friends can have more meaning and contain more genuine and deep felt kindness than those we have a right to expect from  family.

This was made all the more poignant and pertinent for me this week when my friend went through a terrible and deeply saddening experience. However, I believe it was made a little easier to bear by the support of friends and loved ones many, many miles away through the medium of the web, and facebook, and without which, that  support or the lack thereof would have been keenly felt.

So, this weeks picture is my laptop. My pipeline to my extended community, without which, life would be a lot less interesting, and at times…possibly lonely.

Facebook | Illusio Creative Art & Design

This is my Fan/Business page on Facebook, which amazingly reached over 300 fans today. To say I am chuffed is somewhat of an understatement. That many people like my art.