Shared Patio just reached 20,000 thoughts, so this seems like a good moment to say something about.
Sharedpatio.com is a concept site that kind-of sort-of explores the ideas that (a) no thoughts are unique, and (b) everyone is sad and alone, especially people who use the internet. The site tells you that someone, somewhere is thinking the same thing as you (maybe); just between you and me, though, this is probably not true unless you’re thinking “god does not exist” or “I love you.”
I generally don’t pour through these whisperings, as that would be a profound abuse of my position as well as probably pretty boring. But it is interesting to look at a few and get an idea of how people are using the site. Which is interesting, because this is people typing into a textbox without a clear practical function. This is not like sharing a confession, or searching for something, it’s… whatever someone wants to think. But the interface is familiar, and that it makes it easy.
What do people type into the textbox? Disregarding the trolls, the two popular behaviours are to declare something to the world, and to desperately seek an escape from destiny. The popular words in the lower left of the homepage (which have varied only slightly since the site began) are also fairly illustrative.
In any case, why not try it out?
