Not long ago, I was reading this post on TAG about the writer's feelings on the whole Facebook phenomenom. I was happy to see that there was at least one other person on the planet that didn't really like the whole "online community" situation and that it wasn't just me trying to be a stick-in-the-mud. I was beginning to feel like I should just go into a cave and hide so as to avoid being added as a "friend" by someone.
It's ironic that, since I was having a conversation with someone about this on Friday that I have received about ten emails telling me that I have been added to someone's list. Ironic because I thought that we were already friends and that I didn't think it necessary. The whole thing just seems kind of strange because it makes it easier to share things online than it is to go out there and meet all sorts of new and interesting people.
I suppose it won't be too long in the future that we'll all be able to stay in our homes and not have face-to-face contact with anyone. We'll be sharing things online and will be spared the whole inconvenience of having to deal with people out in the "real" world.
You might suggest that having a blog is really doing the same thing. I am, in a sense, part of a larger community of folks who all want to address the world and what's going on around us. I just don't feel that blogging is the same as being a member of Facebook, myspace, mixi and any of the other networks. These communities just seem like another way to prove how popular a person is...
I have no visions of grandeur about my blog as either people read it or they don't. What I feel about the other types of networking is that people get caught up in who's out there reading them. I have friends who spend a lot of time on MSN looking for their friends that are out there in cyberspace. What's wrong with just calling them up and asking how they are instead? If we were really concerned with who is out there then maybe we should keep in better touch.
Anyway, I didn't mean this to go on & on. I'm just questioning the value of something like Facebook in a world that is already on a downward slide towards us avoiding each other in a physical sense into a place where it's just so easy to stretch or ignore the truth.
I'm going outside to enjoy the sun and see how many people I can meet and strike up a conversation with.
It's ironic that, since I was having a conversation with someone about this on Friday that I have received about ten emails telling me that I have been added to someone's list. Ironic because I thought that we were already friends and that I didn't think it necessary. The whole thing just seems kind of strange because it makes it easier to share things online than it is to go out there and meet all sorts of new and interesting people.
I suppose it won't be too long in the future that we'll all be able to stay in our homes and not have face-to-face contact with anyone. We'll be sharing things online and will be spared the whole inconvenience of having to deal with people out in the "real" world.
You might suggest that having a blog is really doing the same thing. I am, in a sense, part of a larger community of folks who all want to address the world and what's going on around us. I just don't feel that blogging is the same as being a member of Facebook, myspace, mixi and any of the other networks. These communities just seem like another way to prove how popular a person is...
I have no visions of grandeur about my blog as either people read it or they don't. What I feel about the other types of networking is that people get caught up in who's out there reading them. I have friends who spend a lot of time on MSN looking for their friends that are out there in cyberspace. What's wrong with just calling them up and asking how they are instead? If we were really concerned with who is out there then maybe we should keep in better touch.
Anyway, I didn't mean this to go on & on. I'm just questioning the value of something like Facebook in a world that is already on a downward slide towards us avoiding each other in a physical sense into a place where it's just so easy to stretch or ignore the truth.
I'm going outside to enjoy the sun and see how many people I can meet and strike up a conversation with.
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