Was life ever simple? I don’t think so. With wars and cultural shifts and ideological upheavals and blurring relationship standards, I don’t think—even as some people may bemoan right along with certain politicians—the world was ever simple.

Nor do I think the world was ever an uncomplicated landscape of social interactions either. Sure, perhaps it was more private. Okay: not “perhaps”. It was. But we’ve gained and lost so much since our current technology came to be, it is difficult to think about how the world functioned before it.

A highlight of this was when I once lost my phone for a single day. Or rather, I was deprived of it due to an error (it got locked into a drawer overnight) and for that day I felt like a hermit.

We, at least in “First World” countries, are so interconnected that being unable to call someone or text someone, anyone, even without plans to do so, is traumatizing.

People say all sorts of things about phone addiction and social media addiction, but here’s the rub: it is one of the most miraculous technologies in the history of our society and, with humans being social creatures, we are drawn toward the idea of interconnectivity.

It is, in a sense, a success of “evolution” for us to be more linked and connected. What is the internet if not a more incorporeal version of the reason we formed cities and towns and businesses?

Everyone, besides certain fringes, desire to be around others at least sometimes. And we now have the means to do so more than ever.

The days of going to Starbucks, to a game shop like Shortstops in Palm Harbor, to a bar like Mr. Hookah, are not gone. Far from it. We now have the capacity to know who is where so we might be with them. And even when people are apart, they are but a phone call away.

A text away. A snapchat away. A message, poke, picture, video call away.

We are never alone. Not anymore. For better and for worse, you need not be lonely.

We can almost always hear a living person’s voice. And recording technology even lets us listen to old words from the one’s lost.

So, I promote the social evolution. I think it’s worthy. I think it will go forward.

I also think there is no way to stop it. Not unless civilization as we know it ends, not unless a dystopian society springs up and pulls it away. And even if such a thing would happen, if we as a species survived, we’d only end up connecting all over again.

The linking of human endeavor allows for swift communication. Which is power. Which is both fearful and joyful. Both a tool and a weapon.

And I promote that it exists. And for the next article or two, I will talk about how it all ties together into so many interactions.

For I believe that much like the Cyberpunk fiction of the yesteryears and the new ideas of virtual spaces posited by Science Fiction, our world has a series of dropping and blurring layers which are already pulling all aspects of human life into its maw and changing in a dynamic way the future and present of human existence.

And I’d rather promote this evolution than live in fear of it.

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If you liked this article, you can read more of Brandon Scott’s work over at The Hive, or on his website: www.coolerbs.com   

Let me pose to you a hypothetical situation.

Let’s say, in the middle of Cleveland Street, where the Farmer’s Market sometimes shows up, there was a large box which had a door facing you and seemed made of simple materials. And next to it was a few people with banners telling you to go in for a moment.

Now, of course, if this was a real thing, you might be discouraged or untrusting of such a situation—but, let’s say for the sake of discussion, you did decide to go into the box for a minute.

I realize this is a long analogy. Stay with me here. I have a point to make.

So, once in the box, you see a few buttons, and they all make interesting sounds when you press them. Press a few more and a screen shows various entertaining images and pieces of artwork.

And then, once you’ve pushed the button a few more times, it tells you that after five more, the box will let you see and hear even cooler things, and will give you a prize.

So you do. And it supplies. And for a moment, the whole experience is awesome. But, around comes promises of even more interesting things if you continue.

And after a while, you’ve lost your entire day to this box.

Because that was the point.

Sounds like a massively weird thing, right? Yeah, well, it is. But it is also the main draw of certain video games. They go about marketing the game as a way to sink hours and days.

Bejeweled is an entertaining box. Candy Crush is an entertaining box. You put time in more and more because on some level it satisfies a basic want and need to feel like you accomplished something.

A need we all share.

And perhaps the biggest and greatest example of this done to a tee is the nerdy staple: World of Warcraft. A game world full of people all playing and fighting and exploring, wrapped around so many boxes it’s scary.

This sort of action is often called “grinding” (and no, that is not a dance move) and consists of doing the same few actions a lot, like killing monsters--and getting marginally better and more efficient at the task over time.

It’s the same appeal as practicing a skill, only you get to be a powerful wizard instead of learning to juggle.

And I am not bemoaning that this is a thing. I do not disparage my gaming brethren for enjoying this. I, too, at one point, enjoyed the grind. But what I am saying is, a lot of marketing work went into that particular trick, and it is hard to break out of for certain people.

Which is yet again what the creator wants. Because it is the dream of every business under the sun to have customers who keep coming back.

Now, this doesn’t work for all things. And must not be used without any thought or reason or ethics—but it is a tool nonetheless.

And one video games have already mastered.

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If you liked this article, you can read more of Brandon Scott’s work over at The Hive, or on his website: www.coolerbs.com

So we were supposed to be hit by Hurricane Hermine.  

I don't know about anyone else, but for me this reminded me of home.  Growing up in an area where storms are common and power goes out frequently for extended periods of time meant that hearing the thunder overhead was rather comforting.  Seeing lightning flashes outside my house windows?  Gorgeous.  A 2 year old who doesn't like loud sudden noises?  Not quite so pleasant.

While in northwestern Florida, Hermine was categorized as a Category 1 Hurricane, down here in Clearwater we just got frequent gusts of wind and a fair bit of rain.

I have never experienced a hurricane and have heard so much about them.  But this wasn't it.

No one I know suffered irreparable harm from it, and it did not stop the delivery guy from bringing us a pizza last night.  

My mother-in-law might disagree about the tame effects of the storm, seeing as how she is one of the nearly 50% of Tallahassee without power currently, but again, down here?  I am severely disappointed.

Welcome to a normal day.

An advertisement comes on for The Home Depot. A promo shows up on your social media account for Nature’s Food Patch on Cleveland Street. A billboard sign for Chick-fil-A passes by as you drive into Tampa.  

Go to Countryside Mall and you will see a thousand advertisements and tons of shops all selling things.

Movie trailers before the actual movie.

Coupons. Deals. “Buy one, get one free”.

So far, so standard. Our country: saturated in the many ways it wants you to spend your money.

But, beyond the normal understanding of the consumer culture of America, there is a deeper layer.

Because, as most marketing and advertising executives would tell you: these sort of things are targeted. They have a specific type of person in mind. A certain type of individual in mind.

Advertising is tailored. Market data gives a basic idea of what a person would like. And, in the end, they are advertising along population, cultural, economic, and gender divides.

Ever wonder why all beer advertisements seem to have the same basic person in them as the “main character”? An average looking guy, between twenty (if they want to seem trendy) and thirty (if they want to seem down-to-earth), who is around gorgeous girls who—for some reason--are attracted to him more when he has a beer in his hand?

As a side note, if it is “refreshing” or somehow “light” they will often be on a beach or an outdoor club. This allows the bonus points of being able to contextualize why the women and men are in skimpy clothing—which adds sex appeal into the narrative.

Now, what does this all break down to? Well, they want a person of around middle class who is a heterosexual male to buy the product. Or, perhaps, a female—depending on how it’s presented.

Now, this isn’t necessarily bad. It can kind of be ethically concerning...or, at least, a public relation danger—but it is the nature of products to have a certain group in mind.

Adidas wants young urban adults. Gerber wants mothers. Gatorade wants sports players.  

And McDonald’s and Apple and Google and Disney wants every single person in the world.

It is how companies make money. They have to sell, and for advertising to be effective, for most marketing to be effective, you have to know who you want to attract. You don’t pull in a vegetarian with grilled meat, if you’ll forgive me for the odd analogy.

But I think it’s something we should at least be more aware of in the long run. And when you see an advertisement, try to think beyond just what they are selling and see to who they are selling.

Because once you can see that, then you’ll be under another layer of the advertising world. And the deeper you go, the odder it gets.

The more primal it gets.

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If you liked this article, you can read more of Brandon Scott’s work over at The Hive, or on his website: www.coolerbs.com

I was on the phone at work today when I noticed that just down the street on Cleveland there were three firetrucks, at least three fire marshall cars and lots and lots of lights flashing.

My curiosity was piqued as I saw more and more people gathering outside the building in question, which just happened to be the Carthage Grille.  For those who don't know yet, this is a high class restaurant with Moroccan, Italian, French and Spanish/Basque cuisine for lunch and dinner, as well as brunch on weekends and holidays.

I was watching the firemen work, wondering what was going on, when the owner, Adbul Taieb walked up to the man next to me and started asking him how he was doing and explaining what had happened.  Interested even more, I introduced myself and let Mr. Taieb that my bosses and a friend of theirs had eaten at his place last week and loved it, which is why I was so interested in what was going on, because I am planning a date night with my own wife to come there and enjoy a nice meal out.

Apparently the Carthage Grille had a weird smell coming from the ventilation system and that caused the staff to send their patrons outside as a precaution while the Fire Department arrived to investigate.

Fun fact: before the Carthage Grille opened two weeks ago, that building in Downtown Clearwater had been empty for 12 years.  

Now it is full with a high end restaurant that is busy throughout the day.

CoCre8 Spaces is opening in Station Square, and we are increasing the amount of restaurants in Downtown Clearwater. Basil, Asian/Mexican fusion has opened recently, and Fuku is competing for the sushi market in downtown.  Mana Mana has been here a while now, bringing traditional Israeli cuisine, while Cleveland St Grill is now owned with an Italian flair next to Riedo's Croatian tastes.

The Carthage Grille incident just shows how much that we denizens of Clearwater, FL really care about our city, and are helping make it the cosmopolitan environment we all know it can be.  But really, the real heroes of this story are the Clearwater Fire Department's firemen who came to the Carthage Grille so fast and helped solve the problems they were experiencing so quickly.

Thank you on behalf of everyone at Wabamm, Clearwater Fire Departments.