Andrea on my.opera

It's some time I'm thinking about this topic -- the dispersion of my online presence. Over the years I created at least a dozen of mail addresses, and I joined not less than 30 forums / social networks. I did it for various reasons -- cos I needed to access that forum, cos I felt that community sounded kind, cos I was simply bored, and so on.

I came to a point where I am asking myself if I really need all that, and if it can do bad to me. I am spitting info about me here and there, and the net is mostly about companies capturing user info for making money. All social networks are having weird terms of service that are allowing them to do whatever they like with our info -- sure they swear that it is only a legal trick for allowing em to provide us with services and so on, but in fact they are asking the user to give em full rights on what we post or upload. I don't care if they say it is a trick and why they do it, I care about the simple and naked facts. I am not very comfortable with social networks.

I keep searching for an unified place where to stop by. A place that can give me services I really need, and that does it while protecting my privacy and without "legally stealing" what I write or upload. Such a place does not exist, I guess. Even my.opera, which is in my opinion among the best communities on net, is still a kind of marketing tool for Opera browser. Microsoft Live services are having too many ads for my taste, and are needing some cleanup (but it is a product that's not finished yet, they say). Google services.. what can I say about Google? I don't trust em too much. I tried Chrome and it's and amazing browser, really.. but it is not letting me block cookies selectively, and why? Cos Google makes money using our cookies and they don't want us to block em. And so on. It looks like all those companies are giving you so many services for free, more or less the same ones over and over again (mail, maps, blog, photo storage, etc). But do we really want to put our lifes on some server granting those companies full right on them? Our photos, our info, our contacts, everything. We are doing a fine job for all those companies, cos we are abstracting data from our lifes and putting them online in a form that is ready to be used for marketing purposes. Someone could say that "they give you a service for free, and they can do it cos they use some of your info for making money". Well they are not giving those services for free then, they are simply selling them for a price that is higher than any annual subscription. I would prefer them to ask me some money every year but then respect me and not use my info for marketing shit. I am still looking for such a company, but I suspect it is not existing.

Opera Unite sounds like a solution for all that, but do we want to keep our pcs on all the time, only to provide the rest of people acces to our contents? Is it wise to waste so much energy, especially now in this moment of environmental and economical crisis? I don't think so. Beside that, personal servers are existing since a lot and they are not so hard to setup. The problem lays in the hardware that should be always running. I turn on the pc when I need to use it and then I turn it off. I don't even suspend it. I try to save energy whenever I can. I did consider the idea of having a small dedicated machine for running a personal server, and move my whole online world there, but the problem is the same : keeping a machine always on, using energy and basically wasting it if no one is visiting my pages and services.

Anyway, I am moving away from the starting topic. I decided to cut down my online presence and remove all that I don't really need or want. I am trying to understand what I need and if I need something among all those services and communities. I understood that companies will always keep creating new services and trying hard to make em fashion and trendy, so that millions will join and give them info to use and a target for ads to be sold. I have enough of all that, and I am really wanting to find a solution.

As I wrote some time ago, I'll be leaving to Russia tomorrow and I will be back in Italy in the end of September. I'll do my best to come on-line from time to time and answer/comment/etc. I'll also try to draw and send my cards for the TCG! I still didn't draw any, shame on me!

I wish you all the best dear my.opera friends! We'll stay in touch anyway

Hugs,
Andrea.

I don't think so. Some people is asking me "why do you still digitally paint with a Wacom Graphire 4 instead of buying a Wacom Intuos?", since they see me buying other things instead. The answer I usually give is : even if I can afford it financially , I feel I can't afford it artistically.

I think that we should try to obtain the tools depending on our abilities and not only on our financial situation. Being able of buying a better tool is not meaning we deserve that tool and we can use it at best. I live in a society where everyone wants the best : the best tablet, the best camera, the best pc, and so on -- this could be extended to other aspects of life too : people wanting the best car, the best house, the best gf/bf, etc.

I see countless mediocre photographers that are owning highend Canons or Nikons, and taking mediocre photos; they even buy all kind of lenses and filters and books, but their artworks were and stay lame. Taking a good photo is about having a good understanding of composition, of light behavior, of timing -- it is about having an artistic knowledge and culture that can support our choices. Years of patience and true passion are needed to get all that. An empty person will produce mediocre and empty photos even with the most expensive Leica equipment -- that's what I am sure about, and I am proud of the fact that most of my fine art photos are taken with a cheap and old dslr and some soviet ragefinders I paid kinda 30e each one (I'll post about my photographic equipment sooner or later).

I also know some "artists" that have no artistical knowlege nor skills, but that have a whole set of Pantone markers, an Intuos 3, and even a cool Mac with Adobe Creative Suite. The same goes for mediocre guitarists owning a Gibson Les Paul Studio or an Ovation. Etc. I feel so sad for such people.

I believe the difference is not made by the tool but by the artist, and that artists should own and use tools that are fitting their experience and skills. As I wrote on Twitter a while ago, I am sure Ingres could draw a masterpiece using only a normal worn pencil and a piece of paper. Artistic growth is all about being curious, doing our best to improve, be ready to do mistakes and learn from them -- it is about being rational when taking a look at what we are really worth. We should all be able of understanding which tool we deserve, and be humble enough to say "ok, I will improve and get better till I will really deserve that tool, or I will maybe even need it for doing more than what I can with the tools I have now".

I can see I am slowly getting better and I really put all of myself into improving myself. I can also see that I am far from the quality I want to produce. My skills are not good as they should be, not at all. And that's why I work hard every day on improving myself. One day I'll maybe deserve a better tablet and I'll hopefully still be able of buying it. Right now my tools are better than what I deserve, and I have the humility of understanding and accepting it