How About An Old Fashioned Friend Request?

“One of the oldest human needs is having someone to wonder where you are when you don’t come home at night.”

Deep in the woods, where it is darkest and only the moon knows its way, there stands a cabin. By all rights, it should be pitch black and cold, silent in the mute of the night. But a passing neighbor, out running with the dogs in the frosty air, has paused long enough to switch on an old copper lantern. It glows amber, warming the way to the cabin.

In this season where aloneness may suddenly turn lonely, we need to do what this neighbor has done. We need to leave a light on for each other.

Census reports tell us that more and more people are living alone. Old, young, single, divorced, whatever . . . we are living solitary lives by choice or by circumstance.

Living by oneself can be a glory of solitude or it can be an ordeal. Most often it’s both; like so much else in life, shifting portions of heaven and of hell. During the holidays, many who normally revel in living life at their own pace, suddenly feel a pang. Logical or not, we all have embedded in us like genetic markers, memories of Christmases past. Few of them truly were Hallmark specials . . . but that tends to be forgotten when the strains of Silent Night start twisting their way in and around our hearts.

So how about leaving the light on for those pals of yours, that cousin or cube-mate or neighbor? How about making the phone call, dropping by, or inviting your buddy, the one who always seems so independent, so thoroughly self-sufficient, for Christmas dinner? How about going beyond writing on your friend’s Facebook wall or tweeting ‘Happy Holidays’ in 140 characters?

I am not talking neediness here . . . or even making the assumption that everyone who lives alone is rattling with loneliness. I am simply suggesting that we look beyond our own very busy noses during this season . . . because maybe, just maybe, that house down the road has been shrouded in darkness for too long.

What about that pal of yours from the office who can’t get a flight home . . . and what of your friend who’s newly separated and away from her children for the first Christmas Eve ever? And what of the legions of newly laid-off — more than 110,000 in technology alone? So many of us are facing upheaval of all kinds. So many of us are newly uncertain on our paths. So many are searching for a beacon.

Amidst all the blazing lights of December, the one you leave on for a friend may be the brightest.

Twaddiction Alert! The new favorite on Twitter: @themediaisdying.

Everybody’s newest Twitter addiction in this season of lay-offs, dead pools, pub-downs and reorgs is @themediaisdying. So far, I’ve not managed to unearth exactly who this frequent tweeter is. All I know is his/her tweets appear to be devastatingly dead on. The media as we have known it is rapidly going poof, with old standbys and famous companies taking the hit. @themediaisdying, operating from ‘Earth’, is proportedly ‘helping flaks pitch better and update lists.’

Coming in the wake of recent events focusing on “Is Social Media Killing PR?” (Jennifer Leggio aka Mediphyter has a terrific and thoughtful post on this), it’s clear the above mentioned flaks better start roto-routing their Blackberry/iPhone addressbooks.

This cut-and-dried coverage feels radically different from the days of the dotcom era meltdown when Phil Kaplan’s F*cked Company (congratulations on your recent engagement, Phil) site regularly and comically chronicled the demise of the puffed-up, IPO-fueled e-businesses. In those days we all had a hefty case of schadenfreude as we happily watched the e-brats lose their pre-Threadless shirts and pre-Tesla test cars.

Now, while we may be fascinated by @themediaisdying and similar sites with lay-off coverage — AllthingsD and TechCrunch — I don’t think anyone is laughing all the way to the bank. (We’re too busy bailing them out)

Guru’s Note: Once you’ve followed @themediaisdying, feel free to follow me, too: @guruofnew