• Welcome to Ty's corner of the web.

    • Latest
    • Projects
    • Contact

    The Evolution of “Data Graves”: a poem about a world after the internet collapses

    Last November, I released a book of poems, short stories, and scenes called The Bronze Age.

    It contains more than 100 pieces, split into six major parts, sequenced to flow into one another to form a larger narrative experience that emulates the way internet-users can form narratives through the lateral and ongoing consumption of digital media like emails, articles, listicles, forum posts, status updates, snaps, tweets, and texts.

    The subject matter ranges from commuting by train, human-computer interaction, a big mysterious world full of unique characters, a dark personal crisis, and human passions both simple and complex, advanced and primitive.

    The second part, Formal Tongues, focuses on how we interact with computers, both in a human-to-computer way in the case of coding and programming, and in a human-to-human way with the support of computers in the case of broadcasting, calling, and messaging.

    One of my favorite pieces, and one that I believe best captures the spirit of The Bronze Age, is “Data Graves.”

    I wanted to share the piece, along with some of my comments about the piece, AND the earlier versions of this piece so readers can gain some insight into my writing process.

    Data Graves

    It’s 2032
    Most network connections have faded away
    But our data remains
    Buried in plain sight
    Our bits are mummified within the tombs
    of blinking, purring servers
    In the soft aftermath of a classified digital nuke

    These so-called “data graves”
    Are invisible yards
    containing plots of you and I, scattered around the world
    Our half-assed entries growing mold

    There’s a kabooming
    distribution of deceased names, emails, street addresses
    Outdated preferences and quantitative messes
    Alphanumerical advice that proves useless
    It’s just junk that spontaneously combusted
    Data that’s consuming and corrupted
    A disturbing terminal corruption
    No more manipulating commands
    No more metaphors for metadata

    The robotic recipes that used to feed us have turned to ghosts
    Former inhabitants stuck in barren machines
    Looking to scare what’s left of us on these arid lands
    But their algorithmic hauntings are predictable and rather easy to avoid


    What would the world look like if every server and computer making up the internet was destroyed?

    This was the central question behind “Data Graves.” Gauging the public reactions to times when Facebook or Gmail’s servers go down, there would probably be mass hysteria that would be hard to detect without the aid of outlets to share the hysteria.

    The picture I had in my mind was one of a deserted area, with some survivors walking past servers stuck in mounds of sand like overturned obelisks. I related this “ruins of the internet” to Egyptian tombs that contain the remains of pharaohs, except instead of physical remains concentrated in one spot, our remains would be spread across a multitude of different databases around the world. We also see the internet as something a bit more ancient instead of advanced.

    Identity is a subject I enjoy exploring in my creative work. “Data Graves” allows us to see: if identity in the modern world can be largely defined by aggregating personal data (though this misses essential components of what makes us, us), what will happen when the infrastructure storing that data collapses? Part of us would be like mummified pharaohs.

    There’s a more sinister interpretation, as there’s an underlying feeling that something that could collapse such a large infrastructure at one time would also likely annihilate most of mankind…

    My biggest joy: getting to use and mix language for deserted ruins, computer technology, identity, programming, data science, and ghosts.

    My biggest regret: I’ll be 41 in 2032, so I really hope my projection is off…

    Previous Versions

    You Are a Statistic

    Don’t become
    A fucking
    statistic
    Don’t become
    A fucking
    Statistic
    But no matter what you do
    You’re a stat from now until you’re blue
    No matter what you fuckin do
    You’re a stat from now until you’re blue
    Don’t become
    A fucking
    statistic
    Don’t become
    A fucking
    Statistic
    You’re measured
    You’re valued
    You’re sold
    You’re studied
    Don’t become
    A fucking
    statistic
    Don’t become
    A fucking
    Statistic
    But no matter what you do
    You’re a stat from now until you’re blue
    No matter what you fuckin do
    You’re a stat from now until you’re blue


    This was the first incarnation of “Data Graves.”

    “Don’t be a statistic” is a form of rhetoric that prompts people to behave responsibly and avoid dangerous activities like drunk driving or smoking cigarettes. I was also showing a jaded view on we are often treated in the eyes of data-hungry companies and organizations.

    I was kind of saying: don’t act like an idiot and become a brief story in a newspaper, you can do more with yourself and your life, but even if you can avoid doing that, you’ll still be viewed as a number and nothing more to many, many people.

    Kind of disheartening.

    A Piece of Data Pie (Version 1)

    No matter what you do
    You’re a stat from now until you’re blue
    You’re measured, valued, prodded, dissected, surveyed, interrogated, filleted, instigated, renovated, and sold

    If someone can make money from you
    They won’t be satisfied with making some
    They will maximize their gains

    They will squeeze, study, compare, calculate, crunch

    But you won’t be a flaccid used-up piece of skin
    You’ll just be exploited
    Like the land you live on
    For your finite resources
    For what you can give until you can give no more
    Then you’ll be tossed out like an old coffee cup

    You’re a piece of data
    You are nothing special, not the sum of your parts
    You are what you spend and consume and subsume and pause and resume


    This was the second incarnation of “Data Graves.”

    In this version, I took the idea that we are a number and nothing more, and brought it to a greater extreme. I used many words that show what can be “done” to you in a way, almost like torture, but with your information instead of your body.

    A Piece of Data Pie (Version 2)

    No matter what you do
    You’re a stat from here to the clear until you’re blue
    You’re measured, valued, prodded,
    Dissected, surveyed, charted
    Spreadsheet-loggered and skewless scatter-plotted

    You’re join your friends in a line, you’re visualized

    You’re fed with robotic recipes
    That take the data points that make you up, you slice
    You slice of numerical advice

    You’re the recipient
    Of everything you want
    We know how to target and we know how to do it well

    You’re calculated and compared
    And put into bases
    But don’t be scared

    You’re a sweet old piece of pie
    Isn’t that nice?
    A scrumptious piece of pie


    This was the third incarnation of “Data Graves.” I was having more fun with the language of data and statistical analysis, and adding in points about targeted ads, and how the data you provide on the internet will inform algorithms that serve you information and ads. I was reshaping the jaded perspectives into one that was more from the perspective of those who exploit you from your data, of how being used means you’re wanted and special.

    Data mining means you’re valuable.

    A Piece of Data Pie (Version 3)

    No matter what you do
    You’re a stat in someone’s eyes from here to the clearing until you’re blue
    You’re measured, valued, prodded,
    Dissected, surveyed, charted
    Spreadsheet-logg-ed and skewless scatter-plotted

    You join your friends in a line, you’re visualized
    You’re stored in a base, just in case

    You feed the robotic recipes that feed you back
    Your actions becomes the data points that become your ingredients, you slice
    You slice of numerical advice

    You’re the recipient
    Of everything you want
    We know how to target and we know how to do it well

    You’re calculated and compared
    But this shouldn’t make you scared
    You should be aware of how wanted you are
    You’re a sweet old piece of pie
    People want you
    Isn’t that nice?
    You’re a scrumptious piece of pie
    And people want you


    This was the fourth incarnation of “Data Graves.”

    It’s very similar to the previous version, but in here I was adding more language connected the idea of a pie chart and a delicious piece of pie, and how people are delicious because their data forms the piece of a pie for many organizations and data miners.

    Spread the word about this blog if you enjoy this content because the web needs more personal blogs like this one

    • Print
    • Twitter
    • Reddit
    • Pinterest
    • Tumblr
    • Facebook
    • WhatsApp
    • Telegram
    • Five Dots

      June 22 2019
    • Gold Tooth Orange Juice

      June 22 2019
    • Magic Square

      June 9 2019
    • Presto!

      June 9 2019
    • Yum Yum (Very Good)

      June 3 2019
    • Very Good (May 2019)

      May 22 2019
    • The Invisible Color of Thoughts Now Available

      February 17 2019
    • Some Layers of a Seemingly Simple Interaction

      November 7 2018
    • We Wouldn’t Have Planes Without Birds

      November 5 2018
    • Dates When the World Was Supposed to End

      November 2 2018
    • This Tree’s Leaves Look Like Hibernating Butterflies

      November 1 2018
    • Yawn Tally

      November 1 2018
    • Sweat

      July 15 2018
    • Recommended Poems

      June 21 2018
    • Fireproof

      June 8 2018
    • Bookless

      April 5 2018
    • The Guy with the Giant Business Card

      February 22 2018
    • 43 Perfectly Valid Excuses for Not Going to the Gym Today

      November 15 2017
    • 10 Alternatives to Saying “What Bug Crawled Up Your Ass?” When Someone Acts Irritated

      November 8 2017
    • “Feel” Project Part 12: Knowing How Much To Do

      November 3 2017
    • James Franco Tongue Twisters

      November 1 2017
    • “Feel” Project Part 11: Total Breakthrough

      October 28 2017
    • “Feel” Project Part 10: A Path is Emerging

      October 26 2017
    • “Feel” Project Part 9: Tear gun, a pleasure-maximizing algorithm, remembering an abandoned idea of sharing creative processes, and searching through notes

      October 24 2017
    • “Feel” Project Part 8: A List and a Mess

      October 23 2017
    • “Feel” Project Part 7: Colors, Making Cuts, Memes and Such

      October 19 2017
    • “Feel” Project Part 6: Looking for Glimmers

      October 18 2017
    • “Feel” Project Part 5: “You can’t make a mistake”

      October 17 2017
    • “Feel” Project Part 4: Don’t We Usually “Feel” Neutral and When We Do It Actually Makes Us Closer to the Universe?

      October 17 2017
    • “Feel” Project Part 3: Using Pop Song Lyrics to Write “Feeling it”

      October 15 2017
    • “Feel” Project Part 2: I’m Not Going to Pretend

      October 12 2017
    • “Feel” Project Part 1: A New Project About “Feel”

      October 11 2017
    • “The engine of our discontent”

      October 10 2017
    • “…making sure you carry your necessary rectangles…”

      October 7 2017
    • Album Cover Art: Naïve Art/Doodle Edition

      October 6 2017
    • TL;DR: Memes Imitate Art, Art Imitates Life

      October 5 2017
    • Album Cover Art: Face Edition

      September 29 2017
    • Here’s a GIF-based Mini-Game to Get Your Creative Juices Flowing

      September 28 2017
    • What If You Could Only Use One Word for the Rest of Your Life?

      September 27 2017
    • How I Accidentally Started Riding the Clout Goggles Trend in 2014

      September 21 2017
    • When You Don’t Have It

      September 18 2017
    • Which of These Rhymes Define Your Life?

      September 16 2017
    • Unedited Twitter Rant Expressing Some Thoughts on Tech

      September 13 2017
    • Wear the Same Thing Every Day and Become a Cartoon Character

      September 12 2017
    • What the Hex is That Blue?

      September 8 2017
    • Goodbye Idea Channel. Hello Idea Channel.

      September 7 2017
    • Stock Photos Who Believed In Themselves Enough to Become Memes

      September 5 2017
    • Pollution Art

      September 4 2017
    • @baseballcardvandals

      August 31 2017
    • “…and this odd nostalgia for memories of the future.”

      August 30 2017
    • TRAPPED IN DEJA VU TV

      June 15 2017
    • back again

      April 30 2017
    • simple cyborg pleasures

      October 16 2016
    • “Blah blah blah” he accused.

      October 15 2016
    • Dear God Four

      October 15 2016
    • Dear God Three

      October 15 2016
    • Dear God Two

      October 15 2016
    • Dear God One

      October 15 2016
    • Common

      October 6 2016
    • 2016 Emmys Reactions

      September 19 2016
    • When the Verizon Guy Switched to Sprint

      September 15 2016
    • If You Stream Nelly’s Songs Then Nelly Didn’t Do Anything Wrong

      September 13 2016
    • This Is What Will Happen When the Goddamn Robots Take Our Jobs

      September 13 2016
    • Oh, Gary Johnson Knows Aleppo Alright

      September 11 2016
    • Sweet Schedule

      September 11 2016
    • A Day in Little USA

      September 10 2016
    • The Difference Between Ok and Okay

      September 3 2016
    • Off the Air Reminding Me Why I Love 15 Years of Adult Swim On the Air

      September 2 2016
    • Ephemera and Error

      September 1 2016
    • seth rogen movie plots

      August 25 2016
    • Musical Genius Has a Vision

      August 18 2016
    • Ellen Makes a Meme Mistake

      August 18 2016
    • Angel and Devil Grab a Drink After Work

      August 17 2016
    • Detective Hardball on Milwaukee

      August 16 2016
    • How JP Morgan Became So Rich

      August 14 2016
    • Swimmers from Different Countries Compete at the Rio Olympics

      August 12 2016
    • A Fireside Chat with FDR

      August 11 2016
    • “I Apologize for My Sandwich Breath Here”

      August 9 2016
    • Gold Shavings Day

      July 29 2016
    • Barely There and Mostly Gone Day

      July 28 2016
    • Limited Friction Day

      July 28 2016
    • Ice Cream Day

      July 26 2016
    • Skin

      May 16 2016
    • Arousal

      May 15 2016
    • Overstimulating

      May 14 2016
    • Static

      May 13 2016
    • Spicy

      May 12 2016
    • Endurance

      May 11 2016
    • Lifestreaming

      May 10 2016
    • Dolphins

      May 9 2016
    • Mother

      May 8 2016
    • Spell

      May 7 2016
    • Perfect

      May 6 2016
    • Ghostwrite

      May 5 2016
    • Unknown

      May 4 2016
    • Undo

      May 3 2016
    • Untitled

      May 2 2016
    • Undiscovered

      May 1 2016
    • Unceremonious

      April 30 2016
    • Everything

      April 29 2016
    • Octopus

      April 28 2016
    • Scenarios

      April 25 2016
    • Brand

      April 18 2016
    • Want

      April 17 2016
    • Warmth

      April 11 2016
    • Birthdays

      April 10 2016
    • Building

      April 8 2016
    • Certified

      April 5 2016
    • Saggy

      April 4 2016
    • Musket

      April 2 2016
    • Stars

      April 1 2016
    • Answers

      March 13 2016
    • Waste

      March 6 2016
    • Leap

      February 29 2016
    • Tolerate

      February 22 2016
    • Trust

      February 14 2016
    • Anthem

      February 5 2016
    • Tint

      February 3 2016
    • An Unlikely Ally in Beets

      January 19 2016
    • Wrestlemania I-V

      December 29 2015
    • better by foot

      December 6 2015
    • “why did you do that?”

      September 14 2015
    • the invisible store

      August 14 2015
    • attracted to a cactus

      July 30 2015
    • a floating row of glow-red letters (exit sign)

      July 17 2015
    • forced relief from a future belief

      July 12 2015
    • Rain Tan

      July 2 2015
    • secret control station panic picnic

      July 2 2015
    • leave as is (off center)

      July 2 2015
    • parade her around like a day-old pastry

      June 29 2015
    • i want to complain

      June 28 2015
    • the suffering of another

      June 27 2015
    • here’s a list of forbidden places

      June 23 2015
    • i doubt the dinosaur drought

      June 23 2015
    • look up

      June 19 2015
    • middle america

      June 18 2015
    • i don’t know the wood smell of the shore

      June 17 2015
    • mood ring

      June 17 2015
    • ad nauseam

      June 16 2015
    • preach about cheap peaches

      June 12 2015
    • blade of steel (buns)

      June 11 2015
    • loungeberry

      June 9 2015
    • Cower Inside and Avoid the Sun

      June 8 2015
    • tonight my lamp

      June 7 2015
    • you are not what you do, and you are not you

      June 3 2015
    • steam room

      May 31 2015
    • Spacebeach

      May 30 2015
    • Rebuilt

      May 26 2015
    • If I Die in Brooklyn

      May 23 2015
    • How Original Do We Have to Be?

      May 21 2015
    • IMAX Screen

      May 20 2015
    • briefly

      May 17 2015
    • Keep Your Eye on the Ball

      May 16 2015
    • horizon

      May 14 2015
    • new york sitty sidewalking

      May 13 2015
    • Positive Worries (What If)

      May 10 2015
    • No one will ever get you

      May 9 2015
    • 5 Things I Believe In (Early 2015)

      May 8 2015
    • Red Tape Race

      May 7 2015
    • Smart is Pain

      May 6 2015
    • Binge-Watching

      May 5 2015
    • 555

      April 29 2015
    • Baseball Baguette

      April 26 2015
    • The Friendly B&E

      April 26 2015
    • Insomnimmortality

      April 25 2015
    • Drag Ideas Through the Mud

      April 23 2015
    • Revisiting Abandoned Ideals on Earth Day 2015

      April 22 2015
    • A Tap Dancing Delinquent

      April 21 2015
    • Stuck in a Cement Truck

      April 20 2015
    • A Bear Falls in the Woods

      April 20 2015
    • Almost Sold-Out Crowd

      April 18 2015
    • Versus

      April 5 2015
    • Skipping Songs

      April 5 2015
    • It’s Already 4:30 vs. It’s Only 4:30

      April 2 2015
    • The Life of the Eiffel Tower

      April 1 2015
    • experience

      March 28 2015
    • 5000th Time Looking at Mona Lisa

      March 28 2015
    • What Does Repetition Do to Symbols?

      March 21 2015
    • Melon Cereal

      March 20 2015
    • No

      March 18 2015
    • Magical Internet Night

      March 15 2015
    • Cheer Up Morning Soldier

      March 15 2015
    • Can You Handle Me When I Ship Myself to You?

      March 13 2015
    • You Didn’t Save Your Important Work But You Did Save Me

      March 11 2015
    • Mutant Deadline

      March 10 2015
    • The Evolution of “Data Graves”: a poem about a world after the internet collapses

      March 8 2015
    • I’m Not Listless

      March 8 2015
    • Bad Key Copies

      March 2 2015
    • What Will You Do With Your Third Arm?

      February 28 2015
    • Go Smell Something

      February 26 2015
    • Publicity Stunt Double

      February 24 2015
    • 24/7

      February 17 2015
    • Pennies Are Lucky, But Not for Us

      February 13 2015
    • Positive Anonymous Acts

      February 11 2015
    • Lazy Research into What I’ve Recently Read Online

      February 7 2015