thepete.com
The content of this post was first published on my TwitWall but under a different title.
So, I was just minding my own business today when I saw a Tweet from @bsimi">@bsimi explaining that today at the @RSHotel dirty martinis would cost $7 in memory of Megapixel. I didn’t know her, and my instinct is to double check before I assume things I read online reflect reality. Some people have dry, even invisible, senses of humor, so it pays to confirm stuff. Sadly, it’s true–Meg Porter, aka Megapixel on Twitter, died in a car accident a week ago yesterday. Seems she may have been on a single-lane road when a big-rig was going the other way. Regardless, it was sad–she was just 24 years-old.
What makes her death even more poignant is that while she had over 3000 followers on Twitter, she let everyone follow her life via her vlog posts on MegPorter.com. I haven’t had a chance to look at many of them, but in the few I watched she seemed like a pretty normal 24 year-old woman–her whole life ahead of her. Life is funny this way–some of us go away early, some of us stick around, while others can’t decide what to do.
The thing is, thanks to social media, no one goes away fully. We’ve all heard the phrase "they’ll live on in our hearts" and it’s true but now, those who have passed on can live on through their own words, their own voice, their own face through social media–in a tiny tiny, but significant way, it’s like they’re immortal.
So, when I found Meg’s blog I saw the YouTube video she recorded back on the 21st and immediately thought "Oh, @bsimi">@bsimi is just kidding or something." If I hadn’t Googled any further, I’d have never known the difference.
I’m not sure what I’m getting at, really. I think maybe I’m hoping stories like this one will encourage us all to blog/vlog/record/document/whatever our lives more.
As scary as it is to contemplate, we may check out before we expect to. Best to make sure there’s something people can remember us by.
Just my ¥2, of course.
Totally forgot to add this link:
OK, this is not going to be the mega-recap blog post loaded with great pictures and video of the event. However, I did want to put something up that encapsulated my thoughts on my experience at 140 Characters Conference or, as we’ve all come to know it, #140conf :)
