Here We Are, Now, Entertain Us

So sang Kurt Cobain in "Smells Like Teen Spirit" - a song that forever altered the music landscape and officially marked the end of the 80's and the beginning of the era of grunge.

That brief history of music aside, what's really interesting is to consider whether Kurt Cobain's lyrics were more than a clever hook, and actually a prophetic command that legions of middle schoolers would follow as they strode headlong into the '00s.

Think about it. Twitter, Facebook, Myspace, blogging, texting, IMing, Blackberries, Iphones, YouTube, etc. are all extentions and innovations build on the radio, TV, the telephone. Created to keep us more connected, sold with the promise of better, more intimate friendships. And true, the glass half-full says it is a revolution of tremendous power and promise; it will add greater texture and meaning to our lives.

But what about the glass half-empty side of the story? The shotgun in the mouth, Kurt Cobain view of the world...a view we may not like and may not want to encourage but one that is a harsh reminder of the reality of the world in which we live.

The always connected lifestyle so many embrace has turned us all into strange caricatures of ourselves. There is the real you - true, ever shifting and changing w/i some range - and the digital you...the one you let the outside world see. The one you want the outside world to see, and now have the technology to foist upon everyone else; most of whom have the same goal in mind (albeit, perhaps, subconsciously).

And that outside, public face - your "brand" - what is this really? That some even refer to it approvingly as your brand - as if you are some nameless, faceless, sub-human and purely legal entity - is appalling. Your brand is nothing more than your style of entertainment.

It is all just entertainment. And we are all mere entertainers. And Kurt Cobain figured that out before anyone else (including Nassim Taleb and John Gray). He's dead now.

Something to ponder.