Blipfuture

Blip entered my life in May, 2010, when Berelaxed, who I found on Flickr, told me there was a website where text mattered as much as photographs, and where people were literate, thoughtful, and expressive in their comments. I had hit a low spot in my life. I retired from university teaching, gave away all I owned, and drove across the USA from Texas to Portland with only what would fit into my car: my most precious books and pictures, and a rock from everywhere I’ve ever lived. I didn’t know a soul in the northwest USA. I chose Portland because I could get into subsidized housing and because it was said to be a politically progressive city with good public transport and a fine public library. But I found it difficult to find like-minded people and was isolated. 

New to Blip, I would post and delete, post and delete. I couldn’t find my voice. I was dissatisfied with my pictures. Teleri/Chaiselongue in France and Molly/Amalarian in Tuscany, both now deceased, reached out to me in comments and urged me to quit striving for perfection and just keep a journal of my days, as did Spitzimixi in Switzerland and Barrioboy in Barcelona. Q8rdave in Florida had a wonderful sense of humor about his blips, and soon I was following Bittersweet and Katherineellis in the UK, Ceridwen in Wales, Folkiebooknerd...and I was hooked. These quirky, unconventional, sharp-thinking, creative people with their intellectual curiosity, their drive for social justice, their love of books and music, art and outcasts: they became my community in a time when I had no face-to- face community. 

I would spend hours every day reading blips, commenting, studying the technical side of photography, following up website links and reading books my new friends told me about. At the same time my Portland life grew richer. My son and his partner moved here and gave birth to Bella; I began to develop friendships; and in 2011, I became active in Occupy and met the activist community and a group of Buddhist meditators including the woman who would become the love of my life. My days became richer and more demanding. I couldn’t spend four to six hours a day commenting and conversing online.

Since 2012 I have struggled for balance between screen-time/blip-time and time for activism, writing, and face-to-face connection, but after following a number of blippers for five years--often daily--I've shared their births, deaths, illnesses, and yearnings. I have met some face to face, and I genuinely, deeply love their friendships. I don’t want to lose them. I’ve looked at Flickr, Tumblr, 500px: none have the tone of exploration, personal revelation, and social consciousness Blip has, and there is no way we can re-create this particular constellation of people who are our comrades here. As a Buddhist, I’m aware that craving is the route to suffering. We don’t always get what we want. Nothing is forever. We will all lose everyone and everything we have ever loved. But sometimes, even if only for a short time, we get what we need. Whatever happens, I am grateful that Blip was part of my life for the past five years. Enormously grateful.

https://www.blipfuture.com/invest