It is 8 am and we are at the train station waiting for our 8:30 am train to Quebec City from Montreal. Checking my belongings for this trip--which I cannot plan without--ensuring that I carry my digital camera, wallet, house keys and change of clothes, I see that my friend Steph is chuckling as she is quickly SMS messaging on her mobile device. 

        I ask Steph, “What's up?” She replies her brother, Nick, who is on his way to meet us. She gestures at me to look at her iPhone screen and with her finger, she taps at the last place Nick checked in, which was at Second Cup. 2 seconds ago. She then shows me a T-Mobile viral video displayed on the Viral Video Chart1. The Viral Video Chart shows statistics, such as 134, 040 Facebook shares, 4, 861 tweets about it and 4, 935 blog posts, as well as 23, 963 comments. The pie chart indicates the percentage of languages people used to share this video. And there is a line graph showing the number of hits over a year. Not only am I bedazzled by the importance of human touch that is both symbolic of prehistoric societies and the advent of mobile technology, but mesmerized by how we now understand statistics, or mathematics and numbers in general. We move when the numbers tell us that something is a "buzz", so we ought to move with the flow of "human" web traffic. This is how far we've come--thanks to Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg, Justin Bieber, Lady Gaga an online course on her--and, am I missing anything else?

        Then comes the predictable part: Steph within a split second sends this viral video to everyone on her 'friends' list consisting of 764 friends in one click accompanying a SMS message, “Who's in? Let's beat T-Mobile's stats ;-),” 

        Wait a second. It doesn't end there. Frivolity--sure. Procrastination--not quite, but worth it, I suppose. 

        ...along with a Doodle link of possible dates and times. Steph also has the status update feed linked with a Meetup event to have us register for this spontaneous dancing not just going viral but imposed as events her closest socialites must attend. Within seconds, Steph receives short and choppy texts consisting of few words, acronyms, and/or emoticons. Ten minutes into texting, Steph looks up and asks if I have an unlimited texting plan. I don't know what to tell her. I go along and we exchange our cellphones. 

        In one of the tabs, Steph has logged on into her Foursquare account. I find this all amusing about Steph, as I don't have an iPhone and am just beginning to learn about the Apps (applications)--let alone, Skype which I have only used in the past. I can see her tracking some of her friends who are also using this application. I can literally see Nick, who is leaving the Second Cup, and is heading towards the train station--we can stalk her brother now, thanks to GPS. I click on Nick's profile on Foursquare and he has a number of badges and coupons for going into places repeatedly. I see that if he enters into another Second Cup, he could earn a free dessert. A new entry in the RRS feed shows that Nick Tagged Steph and Me in his Facebook update and I clicked on the 'like' tab. Nick sends a Facebook Chat message, “left 2ndcup. Be there soon, yall”. This text is an example of “instant text” with “instant response time.”

        Foursquare will aid us on our way to Quebec City. The app will also take over as a guide once we are mingling as locals!

        I am on Mashable reading their current Trending story, which delves into Foursquare having to compete against Deals, Facebook's forthcoming application.2

        While I Google in the search bar, “text plans” for Steph because I want to make sure that I, too, can purchase the best plan for the buck. She is proud to tell me that over her summer internship Telus has a record of her making well-over 23, 000 texts since she activated her cellphone. A catchy title, “Infographic: If Celebrity Google Searches Were Text Messages, We'd Be All Be Broke” pops up and I read through it. It made me think if all the searches for generic items people were making were rather “billed” as text messages as part of data plans on smartphones, how much will they be? If I were to calculate all the “aggregated” community cost of all those text messages played alone in this trip to Quebec City, it would amount to an insane total. And besides the multitasking and sounds of 'beeps,' there is a greater cost. Someone has to pay for technology, right?

        The cost of text decreases, via "Chinese buffet prices," where text messages are unlimited but priced as a single data plan for many carriers, which could explain for more people sending shorter texts, while expecting the recipient (friend) to also respond back instantly. Hence, all the ridiculous multitasking to get texts into order: communications have only come this far to show how primitive we really are for having to feel assured about a single feeling--anything at the spur of the moment, ASAP, on pronto--now! 

        You will see the number in text messages increasing, but my self-acclaimed “Ko Communications model” shows that it may not increase a sense of community, or spark true empathy with the other person. Texting is a passive exchange, you can add. The only benefit from text messages is feeling connected, accepted and never rejected.

        Maybe, only when actions are conducted to create a true experience, such as playing games on Foursquare, the sense of community enhances. On top of feeling connected, when sense of community is triggered, it generates a purpose. The recipient is also the presenter in the exchange, so that both share ideas on collaboration and may act upon them jointly. Empathy or sense of truly understanding the other person's individuality is achieved (just as how Jeremy Rifkin3 advocated on the RSA--a YouTube clip)4

        Many websites such as Facebook invest into research and development pertaining to user-friendly features and services to keep visitors and users on their site longer. Facebook is trying to find ways to reduce the wait time of their page loading up by the milliseconds on the computer screen!5 

        We want effective services that are more rapid than before with increasing capacity to deliver our messages whether it be a slew of frivolous texts to providing a breaking news syndicated on Reuters to its subscribers. For example, Reuters began as the first financial news reporting station, and it all began with birds that carried messages, so that subscribers received the important world-changing news (and views) first as possible. This focus has not changed today, as there are reported Reuters' journalists and news crew risking their lives to bring the forefront of news internationally. The Reuters example also illustrates how technology facilitates social movements to communicate news and happenings around the world, while strengthening their solidarity and/or cause. 

        Then there are social movements that are not so charged with breakthroughs in technology, rather viewed as profit-making, such as GoodNews. It is built on the a plan that participants receive local deals, which in so doing help promote local causes. It is changing the concept of food stamps or coupons. Goodnews and the likes are changing consumers' perception of food stamps and coupons. Goodnews is selling itself as being chic, cool and trendy, to save money and receive perks, while helping your local causes. I agree with Steph and Nick that both Google ads propping up and promoting Goodnews (and most of the time, its competitor, Groupon) are vicious and annoying.

        We finally arrived in Quebec City and we made a decision to turn off our cellphones for the whole remaining day. But we caved into turning on our mobile devises, as we were using GPS to navigate through the bustling city to the spots, or hidden gems, known to the local indigenous natives. Nick was on Foursquare to receive a free dessert from entering Second Cup again. He uploaded a picture of strawberry cheesecake he earned on Facebook. Steph checked online for discounts in Quebec City, namely that of, GoodNews, WagJag, and LivingSocial, while whining about her ludicrous cellphone bill charges for texting theAmerican Idol show, as a means to casting several votes towards her favorite contestant/singer on the show. I just sigh, and decide to update my Twitter account, which I haven't in a while.

1Viral Video Chart:
http://viralvideochart.unrulymedia.com/youtube/The_T-Mobile_Dance?id=VQ3d3KigPQM
2Mashable:
http://mashable.com/
3about Jeremy Rifkin
Bestselling author, political adviser and social and ethical prophet Jeremy Rifkin investigates the evolution of empathy and the profound ways that it has shaped our development and our society.
4Jeremy Rifkin on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7AWnfFRc7g&feature=related
5Time Magaize, “How facebook is redefining privacy:
http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,1990582,00.html