Saturday, March 29, 2008

Classmates, Hi5, Facebook, LinkedIn?

How many of these things should I be signing up for? I am starting to get overwhelmed by this stuff. You have to sign up, update profile, add friends, accept friends and then for the rest of your life you have to keep accepting friends of friends and deleting spam. So far, I have:

1. Classmates.com (signed up YEARS ago)
2. Hi5.com (signed up YEARS ago)
3. Facebook.com (just signed up this week)
4. LinkedIn.com (signed up end of 2007)
5. MySpace.com (TBD)
6. WAYN.com (TBD)
7. ?? (TBD)

People Not Present?
Why do we prefer online socializing over real socializing? Is the allure of meeting new people online or reconnecting with old friends online so powerful? Is our new goal in life to talk to the PEOPLE NOT PRESENT? We sit at dinner with folks and talk on our cellphones to PEOPLE NOT PRESENT. We sit at home with our family & friends and instant-message/online-chat with the PEOPLE NOT PRESENT.

I guess living in the present doesn't mean living with the people present.

5 comments:

G Hop said...

Isn't it about convenience in today's day and time? Back in the day, everyone, including the family and the network of friends were all just down the road and around the corner. There was no option but go to them or them to you. Even if phones where around at that time, your mother probably told you to get off her phone (I know mine did.)

Today, how many of your family and your network of friends are just down the road or around the corner? Then, how do you connect? At one point, it was about writing letters that went through snail mail, but who does that today?

Being "online" is the new thing (whether via the pc or the phone) until it becomes a thing of the past. As to all the "link up" sites...more power to you. I picked one and the rest is history.

Merely a sign of the times.

Troy said...

You are correct. However, we all live down the road and around the corner from SOMEBODY. Why aren't we working to get these people in our network? Or do we not trust them simply because they are PRESENT?

Anonymous said...

It's interesting that some people have 100+ "friends" network...

G Hop said...

Anonymous,

What is even more interesting that some of the people in that 100+ friends network know each other and do not even know they are a part of the same network.

G Hop said...

Troy,

That is a good point. Maybe it is just a comfort zone being in connection with those who are NOT PRESENT?

We are living in communities that do not connect the way we use to back then. Some people take a longer time to trust others must less allow them to be a part of their network.

I have had a few invitations on Hi5 and if they are people I do not know, I have a tendancy of allowing them in. By just adding them to your Classmates, Hi5, Facebook or LinkedIn, do that make them a part of your special network?