Tuesday, September 20, 2005

social networking experiments

90's -> 99's -> 05's
homepages -> IM profiles -> webspaces (mis?)representing us

When you meet someone, it typically means you physically see, talk to, or perhaps shake hands and exchanged hello my name is... nice to meet you.

The internet has changed our perceptions of what it is to 'meet' someone, no longer are we bound to the specific communities we physically live and work in...

These social communities: (Facebook, Friendster, MySpace, AOL, LinkedIn, Match, IM chats) to name a few have become another way which we can narrow down the scope of 'who we'd like to meet' and if we wanted to... create digital and/or personal/professional relationships with these people...

These types of social networking experiments are simply that, attempts to get people to break the mold and try new ways of connecting with others you 'don't know, yet'.... We all want to have a network of friends, peers, acquaintances that can help eachother out or provide knowledge in a realm where we are thirsty for more... the initial bad stigma of using these 'geek services' has faded, people are beginning to recognize their worth in connecting people and expanding circles of friends and relationships.

I hope that face-to-face contact will remain important, but as our daily lives become busier.. at least we can stay connected --

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