I don’t think it’s just social media that is making us so unhappy these days. Even texting has lost its power to communicate and connect us.

My parents lost one of their best friends to old age yesterday and none of us can seem to find the right thing to say. It’s all just near misses and misinterpretation of intentions.

When texting first started a generation ago, it seemed a miraculous way to share all kinds of details we never could before. But now it only seems to emphasize what we won’t ever understand about each other.

The bloom is off the rose and our screens no longer seem to make us happy the way they used to.

This is yet another quarterly thank you note to all you wonderful folks over here for creating this mind blowing community called "Tildes".

It wouldn't be an exaggeration if the times we are living in right now can be termed "the Dark Ages of the Internet". I've got a strange feeling that posterity will look back upon us with that exact feeling some day.

It is perhaps impossible to express yourself today without being judged for your religion, ethnicity, caste, creed, gender, nationality, political opinion, etc. The world has become a very dismal place in that sense. It focuses on these peripheral aspects of the person rather than the content or subject matter itself of what is being said.

Social networks like Tildes are like tiny islands of positivity left in such times, they give me hope that all is not lost and there is a possibility to recover from this some day.

In any case, sending you all wonderful vibes of happiness and serenity, let this community thrive and prosper!

There are lots of localized ideas about who runs the world, like oligarchs in Russia or billionaires in America or Rupert Murdoch and his media empire, but if there was anyone coordinating the activities of these disparate groups I would think it would be someone doing things without a public presence, so as not to draw a target on their back.

I've seen this idea alluded to a lot, but never really fleshed out before.