#gen.c

The Reluctant What is Digital? Digital is intimidating. The word conjures up technical and overly complicated programs, codes and lingo that run computers and databases. Digital belongs in publishing, marketing and enterprise. I am not so much interested in how things work as long as it works and it works well. In May this year, our family went on our annual vacation. Iceland is spectacular. Everything is 100 times better in Iceland than anywhere else. We took a week long road trip and each day we saw magnificent waterfalls, bubbling volcanic craters, glaciers and glacier lagoons. In a country where it is cold all the time, there are many swimming pools. Pools of natural hot springs from volcanic sources. Have you heard of the Blue Lagoon? It was awesome! The valleys were unbelievable, straight out of Jurassic Park. Many times we drove down the 2 lane highway, alone for miles. What an unbelievable experience and I wanted to capture every minute, every turn on the road, the mighty and thunderous sound of the waterfalls, the sound of silence as we gaze at the thousand year old glacier right in front of us. Pictures were just not enough. I shot videos and shared them, lots of them in Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and Twitter. We kept in touch with family through Viber and it felt as though they too were travelling with us. On Facebook we received a lot of “likes” on our posts and found out that people looked forward to our daily postings. Not only did we received “likes” but people commented on our posts, asked questions and gave information where to go and what to do nearby. In Instagram, t. Bloggers I’ve never met started following my posts and I in turn started following them. It was so powerful and empowering that I was able to reach an audience that would not have been possible without these apps. My posts generated curiosity and conversation with people I’ve never met. It also put the spotlight on the little less known places in Iceland. My postings became longer and more detailed as I went along. While it was still a private family vacation, I wanted the following and visibility. I enhanced my posts with apps to filter my pictures, to blur the occasional photo bomber and to spice things up, I shot captivating looping mini videos (“Boomerang”) of the family having fun. This sure beats the old family album I have in my bookcase. I am back home now and I find myself daydreaming of Iceland. I have over a thousand pictures and hours of videos stored in my computer. Looking back, I have created so much content that it will not have been possible without digital. So let me revisit digital and what it means. Oh yeah, I am digital and by: Marissa Vargas