Back in November, I was watching This Week in Tech episode 274, and guest Brian Brushwood said something I think everyone needs to learn. Whether we like it or not, we have to be more aware of our actions than people have had to in the past.
While speaking with host Leo Laporte about living his life in the public eye, Brushwood said, “… you are accustomed to writing your life in sharpie — where you don’t get to take anything backzies — and instead, all you get to do is write around it and try to, you know, do your best to say what you really want to say …”
Brushwood’s observation that all Leo can do is to write around what has been previously written is powerful. It means, as our lives inevitably become more public, while we are chained to evidence of our behavior, we are also able to create additional evidence to frame and give context to our actions. I can see it as a positive thing that people aren’t judged on a single action of the past, but a body of actions over a lifetime. It may make forgiveness more popular. It should also help to increase the value of learning from mistakes.
http://www.YouTube.com/watch?v=mE3tovxr-XQ&t=15m24s Brian Brushwood "... you are accustomed to writing your life in sharpie -- where you don't get to take anything backsies -- and instead, all you get to do is write around it and try to, you know, do your best to say what you really want to say ..."