sublime pleasures

There are some sublime pleasures about this medium, like when it connects us to the best things from the worst days. A year ago I linked to Usman Farman's story where he showed us just how broad the minds and hearts of New Yorkers are. I read a CNN story updating that anecdote a few days ago and saved the link on my desktop, adding it to my sidebar for today. And then this evening I got an instant message from Usman himself, who keeps a blog and, as it turns out, reads my site.

So now I've been able to tell someone I've never met that his story, and his persistence in sharing it with the world, really did change my perspective and give me hope when things seemed so grim last fall.

People ask why I get so fixated on computers, and technology, and esoteric technical issues. The reason is simple: I want to make tools that let people communicate the way Usman has.

I'm Anil Dash, and I've been blogging here since 1999, writing about how culture is made. Contact me at anil@dashes.com, at +1 646 833 8659, or at anildash on Twitter or IM. Find out more »

If you're new to the site, check out my Best Of and Most Popular things I've written in the past 10 years, or explore the full archives. Browse by month or year using the calendar below.

Powered by Hunch.com

1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
  Jan Jan Jan Jan Jan Jan Jan Jan Jan Jan
  Feb Feb Feb Feb Feb Feb Feb Feb Feb Feb
  Mar Mar Mar Mar Mar Mar Mar Mar Mar Mar
  Apr Apr Apr Apr Apr Apr Apr Apr Apr Apr
  May May May May May May May May May May
  Jun Jun Jun Jun Jun Jun Jun Jun Jun Jun
Jul Jul Jul Jul Jul Jul Jul Jul Jul Jul Jul
Aug Aug Aug Aug Aug Aug Aug Aug Aug Aug Aug
Sep Sep Sep Sep Sep Sep Sep Sep Sep Sep Sep
Oct Oct Oct Oct Oct Oct Oct Oct Oct Oct Oct
Nov Nov Nov Nov Nov Nov Nov Nov Nov Nov Nov
Dec Dec Dec Dec Dec Dec Dec Dec Dec Dec