Shannon and Phil

There was no liveblogging. Only a smattering of tweeting. And not a single selfie stick. The "Living the Dream" event my wife and I attended Saturday night, honoring generations of civil rights leaders and ushering in the new generations to come, was quite the departure from CES in Las Vegas a week ago.

I freely admit I probably don't appreciate the importance of an event like that. But it was clear to see just how important it was for others, particularly those who were around for the civil rights era in the 1960s.

But what really stood out was this — and I promise I'm tying this all back to mobile in a second:

The Rev. H.K. Matthews is a civil rights legend in this part of the world. He's been there, done that and has the stories to tell. And he's one hell of a storyteller. And with the movie "Selma" fresh on everyone's minds after last week's Oscar nominations, Matthews reminded us "I've watched the movie 'Selma.' In 1965." He marched. He was jailed nearly three dozen times for standing up for what he believed.

And he did this in a time before Twitter. No Facebook. No Instagram. It's not that nobody was watching — protests, of course, are designed to get everyone to watch. It's just that there was no instant gratification in those days. He and the others who marched had to do it again and again. He was jailed 35 times, without a single tweet to announce the latest arrest.

I wasn't around back then. I don't really know what it was like, and I never will. But I saw how much it meant to so many. Matthews and so many others simply did it because it was the right thing to do. Not for the retweets. Not for the likes. Not for the faves. And none of it was shared instantly for millions to see before moving on to the next attention-grabber of the day.

That's something I'll think about when I'm Instagramming my next meal.

A few other thoughts on the week that was:

  • Wither Google Glass. I'm a little surprised it took that long.
  • But I also wouldn't call Glass a failure. It helped lead the wearables discussion. And discussion of what's socially (and legally) acceptable for wearables is an important one to have.
  • And folks need to remember that Google isn't afraid to fail. It's not afraid to throw something out there and see what happens.
  • I wanted to love Lightroom for Android. The app is just too clunky for phones. Great way for Lightroom users to sync images, though.
  • I'm back on the HTC One with Lollipop. Nicely done. It's got me excited for March 1.

And with that, I'm off to Instagram some food. See y'all Monday.