I can’t believe it’s been four years already since 9/11. The feelings of sadness and helplessness come back when I look back and see my son’s pictures on my blog for that day.
To this day he’s scared of going on planes because of 9/11. His world was changed that day.
That day kicked off radical personal changes in my life. A month later I was in a car wreck, which just accelerated the changes that were coming. Over the next few months after 9/11 I went through a divorce. Got engaged to Maryam. My grandma died. I laid myself off from UserLand.
That period of time was a serious inflection point in my life. And it led to my life today. Live life with your metaphorical gas pedal all the way to the floor. Why not? You never know what’s coming tomorrow.
Might as well try to make life better today.
That day was also an inflection point for the blogosphere. It was the day that I realized our disaster experience had changed because now we could all share information — no matter where we were in the world — and have a global conversation. I remember getting up and talking with people in dozens of countries that morning on IM. Today I’m seeing that trend continue as geeks build systems to deploy volunteers to where they are needed (and, as other geeks build systems to let victims communicate with their families and the world).
All said, though. The pre-9/11 world is something I look back longingly at. I remember recently taking a Ferry trip in Seattle and having three police boats circle the Ferry. It made me feel very uncomfortable. Our world had changed.
Robert Scoble is the founder of the Scobleizer blog. He works as PodTech.net’s Vice President of Media Development.
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