A Social Network from Kurt's Idea

[Rick]

Those of you who have read Slapstick may recall Mr. Vonnegut's somewhat whacked out plan for the U.S. government to assign every man, woman and child, via lottery, to newly formed "extended families." "Lonesome No More!" was the presidential campaign slogan of Dr. Wilbur Doffodil-11 Swain. (He had take the odd middle name as part of the extended family convention.) Swain won the election and saw his plan through, although things didn't work out all that well.

Mr. Vonnegut was actually quite serious about the idea. He had visited the short-lived nation of Biafra in the late '60s and been humbled, in the midst of devastating poverty, by the enduring structure of the Ebo tribal culture there. He saw how the tribe offered support to individuals, picking up where families left off.

The notion that our government could organize us in this way is ludicrous and Mr. Vonnegut had fun with the idea in Slapstick. But it occurred to me that with internet technology, maybe something could be managed, side-stepping the government. And so, in my book, I invented a character -- a billionaire internet entrepreneur (hey...they're a dime a dozen) -- with the brains and resources to give it a go. He names the enterprise, Ebocloud ("cloud" for cloud computing).

So, sorry about the rambling intro...I do have a question for the group. I worked on this book for well on three years and spent many a night wondering what Mr. Vonnegut would have thought of his idea turned into a real, live online humanitarian enterprise with a mission to save the world from loneliness. Any thoughts?

[Matt]

I think loneliness (like a lot of things) swings like a pendulum: sometimes you can't stand to be alone, and other times all you can't stand to not be alone. I think a lot of people feel like the last thing they need is more family...

[Daniel]

Kurt looked at this as a serious problem and a reason why nearly 50% of marriages end in divorce. Logically, Kurt said families are getting much too small, it used to be that when people married someone they gained many new friends. People just want to talk to people. Now that families are too small people are discontent.

However, I must disagree with your statements about building an online humanitarian enterprise. Online discussions take away the personal aspect and can still leave a void in someones life. However, in the luddite fashion, what if there was an attempt to write letters and send them through snail mail.

[Rick]

Daniel, I agree that Kurt would have insisted on personal contact. To clarify: in Ebocloud, the online enterprise is used to establish and organize the extended families, but the participants meet in the real world, gathering in neighborhood work parties, support groups, tutoring sessions...all types of mutual support. It's a virtual community that bridges into the actual world.

[Daniel]

I'll have to check out your book! Thanks for clarifying.