A Worthy Node

Re: Galloway and Thacker's "Nodes"

I can adopt the thinking that I am a node. I am connecting things together, and things are connecting to me without me being starkly aware of them. Imagining the topology of nodes, the network, I am a dot with lots of lines pointing away from me to other dots. There's a dot for my mum, a dot for dad, and two for my grandmothers who live in Romania. I can't imagine the rest of the dots but now that I am writing, I can imagine a dot for you, the reader. I am connected to you. My dot to your dot. It's love. Imagining you reading this augments my sense of purpose, like I am writing for you, even though I know so little about you. And by that I mean, I made you up, so I am going to take it slow. I don't want to rush into things, you know.

Anyway, I'll keep to some semblance of self-indulgent data entry. As a node, I am a carrier and enterer of data into the topology. It's all diagrammed beautifully in my mind. I input what I am feeling/express myself and the network draws lines to me according to the protocol designed to make me feel cared for. When this pops my blog, I'll feel accomplished. I need to write a blog entry about Nodes. Hey, there's a space for it. And it fills the space of my measurable requirements for completing English 364. Swell. I'm being playful which is what I've found has been a good approach to getting by in this course. Learning through experimentation/data entry.

Galloway and Thacker note that this is exactly how control societies thrive, how they make themselves "matter". By giving me a space to be validated, I am really subscribing into the protocol - and it doesn't even require anyone to really sustain that. I just have to put this writing out there, click "Post" and I will have done my part. A tick in the provided box and the adjoining feeling of me fist-bumping myself. Now let's hope I'll further feel the validation of getting an A+ if my data is deemed good enough by the rubric/system.