Undocumented Life: New Digital Polaroid, Socialmatic

Kids in a shopping cart at Target

Capture every moment even if it kills you.

I love this picture of Sully and Bridgy! We were at Target yesterday, shopping for Halloween lights. Robert was pushing the cart, so I was hands-free and able to take some pictures with my iPhone. Yea! It won’t be long before they’re both too big to ride in a cart, so naturally, I had to document it for posterity. Eventually, I’ll spend lots of time examining this picture; pining for the days when they were small while simultaneously not living in the present, which is still in the future, and which I will probably also attempt to furtively document. Basically, we’re all living in the past or for the future, which makes me dubious about my presence in the present. Confused yet?

The Unexamined Life Unfurled

Socrates (or was it Plato?) said, “The unexamined life is not worth living,” to which Kurt Vonnegut replied, “…But what if the examined life turns out to be a clunker as well?” Future generations are going to have a lot of material documenting their potential clunker (or otherwise) lives, because, don’t you know, the undocumented life is not worth living. It’s the unexamined life unfurled. Thanks to mobile technology and Web 2.0, current generations are creating the most comprehensive record of the life and times of mankind. It will impact how history is told; how it informs the future and how the collective personas of all generations are validated against the data they leave behind.

Kodak Moment, Anyone?

And, what happens to the Kodak moments? Does the size of the archive we’re creating diminish or enhance the quality of our experience? That reminds me of something I wrote in a commentary last year about fall in Oklahoma. “If you buy a pumpkin spice latte and don’t instagram it, it didn’t happen.” By the way, Kodak’s new tagline is Yellow Changes Everything. I have no idea what it means, but it scares me. I decided to write about this subject today because I came across this new app, Eventure, that’s going to be released soon via iTunes and Google Play. It’s designed to help you capture all of life’s adventures and keep them forever.

How weird, too, that we’re talking about the ability to preserve memories throughout the ages at the same time we’re contemplating the death of traditional photography.

Mobile-Camera-Trends-and-Statistics

Polaroid Nostalgia

Here’s something cool on Etsy to cure your nostalgia for Polaroid. A necklace.

Polaroid Camera Necklace

Polaroid Camera Necklace via Strangely Yours on Etsy.

But, here is something even better! Polaroid is coming out with a new camera called Socialmatic that produces instant pictures. It’s totally reminiscent of the camera’s heyday between 1958 and 1977. It will be released in 2014 and will sell for around $300. Too bad it won’t be out in time for Christmas.

Polaroid Socialmatic will retail for $299

Polaroid Socialmatic will retail for $299

Did you know nostalgia was once considered a mental illness? Check out the New York Times article, What Is Nostalgia Good For published in July of this year. Turns out, there are some benefits to living in the past, but it’s definitely not where I want to be. Even though I write a lot about generations and events that happened in the past, it kind of depresses me to look at old family pictures. I miss all those people, and it just astonishes me at how fast it all went by. While I’m thinking about it, did I already share with you what Elizabeth Wurtzel said about the past recently?

“…The events I describe are precisely as I remember them, and as anyone else who was there recalls. And still, I know: There are other versions.”

Polaroid Branding

Polaroid Branding Colors

The colors of my Generation X childhood

These are Generation X’s school colors. Polaroid was our mascot. Ha! [schema type=”product” url=”http://www.social-matic.com” name=”Socialmatic” description=”Socialmatic is a brand new instant camera that prints pictures. It sells for $299 and will be available in 2014. ” brand=”Polaroid” manfu=”C&A Marketing ” price=”$299.00″ condition=”New”] [subscribe2]

Gen X Blog Jennifer Chronicles

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4 Comments

  1. Robbie Wheeler

    Would love to have copy use of the polaroid camera necklace picture for our yearbook cover. My name is Robbie Wheeler & I am yearbook advisor for Oakdale School. We would gladly give credit to person who took the picture or who owns it.
    Thanks for considering our request.
    Robbie Wheeler

  2. Andi

    Eventure – do you truly know what it is after watching a near 2 minute video…no…marketing got to love it! I think about how much of our life is recorded, but I also think about how much of the first half of life wasn’t. Maybe the first dozen years, but proof of that sits in my parents garage in boxes and boxes of photos – it is certainly easier to go back through a year of Instagram photos and see what you did! I love polaroid – I have one with film, but never remember to bring it anywhere to take photos – new camera looks great, but a bit pricey, interested to see what looks like when it comes out. This was like a blue plate special!

  3. Alan Bates

    I love facebook and instagram but that eventure video seems a little creepy to me. At events whether it is a baseball game, musical production, concert or whatever I love searching the hashtags ( like “#drillers”) and finding other people, total strangers, at the same event.

    Memory is a strange and unsure thing as anybody who has tried to discuss family events 40 years ago will attest. Or those of called upon to do depositions.

  4. Antonio De Rosa

    Please change the Manufacturer. It’s C&A Marketing. Thanks.

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