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.

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  1. saadiq posted this