As I mourn the loss of someone I didn’t know, hadn’t heard of and could have conceivably never have learned of, I am amazed at the unexpected consequence of the digital-social lives we now lead. I remember talking with an alumnus of my grad school after a number of attempts to link up. We laughed about how much I “knew” about him and his family just as a result of having met him once and following his flickr stream. I congratulated him on his latest child and wished his wife (also an alumnus) and family the best. It felt just a little creepy to have that intimate knowledge of someone I didn’t “know”.
Today I learned of the death of @jamield. After seeing it mentioned for the 3rd or 4th time on twitter, I did a little research. After reading a poem dedicated to her and a couple of other thoughts, I began to get some notion of who she was. It turns out that @jamield was just another person. I mean, she wasn’t “famous” as we might consider a celebrity. She had micro-celebrity of a sort. Internet-famous, even. Based upon the response to her passing away, I can only say that she touched a lot of people’s lives. She was apparently warm, friendly and quick with a joke. A good person.
I read her last twitter updates. Checked out her tumblelog. I am struck by how innocuous her last messages were. It drives home the sudden and unexpected nature of her death. The sudden nature of death in general. I guess I’m struck by the outpouring of sympathy and feelings of loss from others who had never met or heard of @jamield either.
I didn’t know Jamie Leigh Dyer Dordek, but if she was anything close to the things that have been said of her, I too am sad for the loss.
