Last night, i landed at Oakland and decided to announce that i was there so that i could switch Dodgeball back to SF and hear what folks were up to even though i was feeling quite asocial. Just as i received a confirmation email saying that people got my message, i got a message from an old friend announcing his presence at OAK. Now, normally, i don’t drive to the airport but i was running uber late last week so i called up this kid and asked if he was just arriving and if he wanted a ride back to SF; he was totally taken aback and laughing – he had just come back from an interview with Red Burns (ITP, where Dodgeball was created). It was particularly hysterical because while i’ve passed him on the streets in SF, i really haven’t hung out with him at all since college. (Why is a longer issue involving issues of confidence and head space.) Driving back to the city, catching up, he got a call from a girl i used to hang out with freshman year in college – she was living in the city and wanted to see a movie. The end result was that i got to catch up with a whole group of college folks that i hadn’t seen in years. I have to admit that it was utterly wonderful to see this group and realize that i am back on solid ground again.
While Dodgeball has certainly been useful in social settings, this was the first time i had the opportunity to see it be useful beyond just the basic bar hopping scenario. It reminded me of a time when two friends realized they were in an airport together because they saw each other’s music on iTunes. I think that funny points of synchronicity is only going to get more interesting as technology become mores infused into society.
d, does ITP mean inside the perimeter in SF, like it does here, or does it have a different meaning? Or are you speaking of the ITP program at NYU? –k
::laugh:: I mean the Interactive Telecommunications Program at NYU. Red Burns is the director over there.
the funny thing is getting a dodgeball on you mobile while you are in europe ’round noon.