25
2004
Here’s a good illustration of the difference between San Francisco’s two cultures. It’s also a good example of why the Chronicle remains out of touch with an increasingly important segment of its readers.
Chron feature writer Sam Whiting asks danah boyd, a UC doctoral student, girl around the 'net and vet of big-time digital culture petri dish MIT, about ‘blogger off-line behavior. He gets – he thinks – this response.
“Even the most obsessive ridiculous bloggers meet in meet-space multiple times a year in conferences,” boyd is quoted as saying.
Sam, that’s not what she said. It’s M-E-A-T space. As in blood and guts, carbon-based life form, the expression coined (I think) by Marvin Minsky to describe his body, which he refers to as a “meat machine.” Meatspace is the place where breathing living creatures breath on each other, as opposed to the on-line place where they can only type or, if they’re involved with Paris Hilton, post their video accomplishments.
The fabulous Brad DeLong has uses M-E-A-Tspace properly here, Sam. Read it.