Streaming Life.

The interweb as I like to call it, is filled to the brim with videos, diaries and blogs posted about every topic one can imagine. What I often find most interesting are the ones that tell a story without ever saying a word. They may cheat just slightly and use lyrics from a song or bold words on a poster, but they find a way to pull you in and hold you hostage while you find your mind rambling over images, and deciphering undertones. As an amateur story teller, I'm always looking for better ways to express myself. The creators of these videos found a way to tell beautiful tales of life, love and understanding all the while never having to say a thing.

I recently stumbled across this video advertisement and was struck by the sheer simplicity of it. The video follows the natural lifecycle of a couple. From first awkward butterfly inducing moments through first dates, meeting the parents and best friends, the ups and downs, the fights and the sadness, the joy and the celebration. The video chronicles the every day. It isn't until the very end when a man gets down on his knee to propose that the camera flips to the other side to show that the partner he has chosen for life is a man as well. Scandalous, I know.

While it's called rather simply "possibly the most beautiful ad for marriage equality" its message goes deeper then the beautiful people who take on the starring roles. The ad isn't overly sexualized, it isn't vulgar or crass or even overly sweet. It's real. It's powerful and moving and emotional to the core of its being. Anyone who has ever dated someone knows that life isn't always rosy or perfect. Life is sad, it can be hard but it's also a beautiful struggle that when shared is an amazing journey. The story is delicate and awkward at times, but forces you inside the secret world that only two can share. I think the strongest message is that the couple never seemed to hide or be embarrassed to share their love with one another. The awkward moments that would be uncomfortable for a straight couple, were uncomfortable here and the joyous moments were equally celebrated. It's a story told through the reactions of one man to another.

For years I've been transfixed by the sounds and sights of "Where the Hell is Matt?" Whenever I need a moment, to pause and breathe I watch the video that shares an incredible story of reaching past what you know and what you may see or expect and just enjoying everything life has to offer. In 2006 Matt took a 6 month trip to 39 countries on all 7 continents. In that time he danced a lot. A year later, having met thousands of people Matt decided to travel again and this time invited everyone he'd met along the way to dance with him. He took a journey; one that lead him around the world and back and in just over four minutes he finds a way to share the power of the experience with the rest of us. At first he starts alone. Dancing in town squares, on panoramic bluffs and in forests, you're pulled in by the unclear randomness of his dance moves, the haunting sound of the music and the curiosity of what's next. And then, Matt makes friends. In every location he's joined by 5, by 10 by 100 strangers brought together by the power of dance. The unifying strength of the sheer joy people find in standing together and going crazy. The music is adapted from a poem called "Stream of Life" which again invites you on a journey. Never stay complacent, never settle. The world is waiting.

Each of us lives our life one year at a time. Last year I decided to hold off printing the thousands of pictures (seriously, it's a sick addiction, I know) I took during the course of 2010 until very late December. Instead I compiled everything in to one book. Because I waited, I was able to look back a bit more clearly and select only the best and most important images to include. Andrew Clancy did something similar but took it to an entirely different level. I can only imagine the incredible deluge of stimuli that someone who lives in NYC is faced with each and every day. Clancy, ever the story teller, took a step back and caught some of the cities most indelible moments and spliced them together into a video that shares a year in HIS life. He notes that he can't speak for every New Yorker or possibly catch every moment, but he shares the journey that he took in a story in which most people could find pieces of their own.

Each of these videos is a glimpse inside someone's world. There's a story teller, but no real narrator leaving an open ended opportunity for every viewer to connect on their own terms and in their own way. From political to emotional to just plain fun, these stories and millions more just like them have been created to share something, to offer a look inside and to express an emotion that the creator was feeling. Never do they directly ask for a response but rather invite participation. If video is the new diary, here's hoping self expression is the new black.