"WHEN YOU STRIVE TO CONNECT WITH PEOPLE'S HEARTS YOU WIN THEM FOR A LIFETIME."~ Gerry Visca
A man named Harold woke up yesterday and habitually turned on his phone while having his morning whiz. To his surprise the social media icons had faded into the depths of the screen. That’s funny, must be the phone, Harold whispered to himself. No matter how firmly he pressed the screen, nothing happened.
Harold got up and made his way to the coffee maker which sat on the counter joyfully anticipating his arrival. As the scent of freshly ground beans wafted into the air, Harold decided to check his email but again to his bewilderment the little "mail symbol" that typically rested along the bottom had vanished. Did someone mess with my phone? Harold thought to himself.
Moments later, Harold decided to switch to a more reliable source; the sleek laptop nestled comfortably upon his desk. As he slowly opened the lid he let out a never-ending yawn. The lights on the foot of the laptop flickered strangely as he took his first sip of hot coffee. Like a moth to a flame, Harold leaned in for a closer look. As he did so, the steaming beverage cascaded over the key board like a warm waterfall. His laptop then let out a troubled sigh and one final beep advising him and the world that it had had enough of this life. Crap! Harold whispered loudly.
Later that morning as he made his way to the local Starbucks and having no device to robotically stare at, even as he walked, he felt a strange aura brewing in the air. Harold could not help but notice that people around him were also looking up from their devices that curiously must have stopped glowing and buzzing.
The infrared scanners at Starbucks had also malfunctioned and evidently, no one was able to open their fancy apps. Initially, this freaked Harold out, as he had been anticipating the "free treat" he would soon be entitled to with a few more purchases. He regarded how his life revolved, almost entirely, around this small rectangular device. Fascinating? He whispered into the wind.
The Barista sheepishly smiled at Harold as she kindly advised him that their was no internet or debit services so he would be forced to pay with cash. As if he had foreseen this day, Harold had decided to put a few dollars into his wallet the night before. As he whipped around, his friend Charles bumped into him and Harold's recently cash-purchased Grande fell to the ground and exploded into a sea of dark liquid. This morning is not going the way I planned, Harold muttered to himself.
Little did Harold know he was not alone. While he had counted sheep the previous night, the world decided to change. The world that Harold knew, the one that his rational mind thought was Real was an illusion.
It’s a World Without Web, he whispered to himself.
No internet.
No social media.
No online or wireless access of any kind.
As this realization dripped in, Harold felt alone and even a bit afraid. But then something indefinable occurred. A beautiful woman approached him and he found himself diving into the most connected conversation of his life.
“Did you hear about the Web?” the woman asked. “It’s completely gone like it never existed.” As Harold gazed upon the wondrous splendour before him a profound realization stirred in the air. This is the “CONNECTION” age we were meant to co-create, he thought to himself.
With the illusory world on pause, Harold found himself going about his life with a new sense of awareness. He noticed people from all walks of life connecting with one another. He heard laughter from children chiming in the wind as if for the first time. Meaningful conversations lingered in boardrooms. He received actual phone calls from actual human beings and spoke of things that mattered in life. This ripple seemed to spread across the world like a brush fire.
As Harold placed a fresh and crisp copy of Defyeneurs MAG onto his desk where his laptop once stood, he smiled at the thought of the woman he met earlier that day and contemplated the conversation they would have over tomorrow's morning coffee.
I better put a few more bills in my wallet, he thought to himself.
