Living in the Cloud

This afternoon a NPR snipet on living in the cloud caught my ear. For those you who do not know this phrase, living in the cloud is the techie term for storing information in cyberspace rather than on a hard drive. Examples include storing photos or documents on google or flickr as well as hosting journals and info on facebook. I was a bit disappointed. I think of living in the cloud as a carefree, no-strings-attached way to approach life. But, without even knowing it, I having been living in the cloud for years. Somehow I doubt that I haven taken full advantage of the view.

How much living can one actually do in the cloud? Granted, you can share information and perhaps make a new friend. However, one can also hide from people, withdraw, or create a second (or third) persona. For me, this venue is an opportunity to be honest with my self and with others. I tend to like to be everyone's favorite friend, sister, co-worker, aunt,or lover. Putting my thoughts in the cloud allows me to test drive them. I get feed back from the comments on my blog or from "I can't believe you posted that" emails. When I see folks face to face, they already know the 'scary stuff' and I can skip the 'how will they react' head drama. Is this the best way to approach relationship? I doubt it, but how would I know, I have had my head in the cloud for years.

Most of you who know me in the real world, know that I can soak up every ounce of vigor that life offers. So, maybe my feet remain on the ground while my overly cerebral head lives in the cloud.