NoSo - Backlash Against Our “Always On” Culture
Michael Arrington
27 comments »
“Meet no friends, attend no events and make no connections.”
NoSo, short for No Social, is more of an art project and cultural backlash than an actual startup. You join, get a user number (everything is anonymous) and then create and/or join “NoSo’s,” which are held wherever the organizer chooses to have it: parks, cafes, street corners and other public places.
Other users come, but people “meet without meeting.” Users arrive alone, unplugged and aren’t allowed talk to anyone, presumably taking comfort in the fact that other NoSo users are there sharing their experience. “Allow the NoSo experience to envelope you,” the site suggests. The video on the home page of the site describes the other details. A sample event is here.
It’s an obvious play on Flash Mobs, although, of course, without publicity.
This also appears to be a semi-serious endeavor.. The NoSo founders (Artists Christina Ray and Kurt Bigenho) were interviewed by 10ZenMonkeys:
We invite people to take a break from their every day experiences carrying around laptops and cellphones, and give them the chance to just disengage from the noise, the social network, the constant communication that’s going on around us all the time. We let them just experience the absence of that — the feeling of being without all those distractions. And a NoSo could happen in a number of different places. It could happen on a street corner, or in a cafe, or in an installation in a gallery setting.
aren’t you defeating its purpose by posting it here
Do they put duct tape over your mouth too ?
I normally just go hide in my closet to tune out — or go climb a tree out in the woods - or bring up the Orkut website….
Funny idea…
Here’s an art project I did a while ago:
http://take.time.to.think.online.fr
Here’s the explanation:
http://viloo.blogspot.com/2007.....think.html
hmmmmmm…..kind of feels like flight club
Is the first rule of joining a noso not to tell anyone about the noso?
All I have to say is that I hope this gets blogged about on uncov!
Lame.
It encourages safe sex and that’s good. Make a date, show up, don’t acknowledge your partner’s existence, go home. It’s also practice for marriage!
#7, too funny! If people need an anti social network to relax then society is going down the drain. I can understand somewhat, I have 3 jobs (day job, new web project, teach dance) and sometimes I forget to relax. I guess it is all about balance.
this is just a stupid idea. period
gosh so now social media/networing ‘addicts’ need a social site to learn how to not be social. that helps. it’s like i-dont-know-how-to-die-pls-teach-me-oh-dear-wikipedia-how-shoud-i-die?
LAME
*^!$#% Hippies
Damn, I do this everyday at work already. How is this new?
@5 Uncov is great, it brings some common sense to these posts….obviously Michael doesn’t just how asinine most of the things he highlights are. Of course I still read, b/c even though I enjoy Uncov and Valleywag, there have been a few decent profiles on this site.
Using the very connectivity they shun to enable unconnected gatherings?
Oh the art-student irony!
I guess it might be fun for people who have nothing better to do than stand around in public not talking to each other. Prizes for the person who gets the most knowing glances from participants!
Hey cool. I had this idea earlier and bought the url http://www.antiweb2.com - I never did anything with it because it ultimately seemed like a waste of money and time. Cool.
Any bets as to how long till NoSo ‘griefers’ start showing up at these events?
I really wanted to like this, but it is simply far too stupid. In fact, it is so stupid that it makes me want to break something.
I wonder if it will be like those “quiet”carriages on inter city trains where anyone daring to answer their phone is glared out of their seat?
Similar idea:
Go to sleep.
OR
Lock your front door.
Better idea:
Stop wasting time on stupid, pretentious and idiotic idas such as this.
What a stupid idea, people like this creep me out. Good thing they don’t talk, I don’t think anyone would want to listen.
.
Isn’t it more constructive just to read a book? (A book not about social networking, I mean…)
Sounds like you all need to do a NOSO!
Slow news day at TechCrunch.
Sounds like a load of pretentious crap to me…