My Way or the Highway

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the approximately 80 glajillion social networking/social media applications out there these days and the amount of time it takes to be active in them.  Obviously I cannot actively participate in hundreds of networks – at least not with anything worthwhile, so I pick and choose and see what applications look helpful or interesting.  Sometimes I’ll try a new site or application because a friend recommends it, but not always. Sometimes I’ll read some tech blogs and see what they’re talking about and how they feel about something before I dive in.  I’ve found myself joining sites just so I can say “Yep, I have an account there, and yes I’ve tried it”, but what good is that doing? If you’re not actively participating in the site/network then how do you *really* know what the value is?

I tend to feel lately, that there’s so much of a rush to try the latest and greatest, up and coming “new thing” that it’s almost as though we’re stuck on the information super highway of social apps – speeding along, signing up for this thing and that thing without any real idea how it might help us. Just full speed ahead, packing more into every day, squeezing more “to-do” items into our lives.

As we were driving down the highway yesterday I started to think about how the internet really does feel like the “Information Super Highway” these days.  On long trips, I tend to be a person that avoids large highways even though I know they’re the fastest route from point A to point B.  I stress when traffic becomes heavy and claustrophobia sets in. I look for the nearest exit to get me to a small, quiet back road that will head in the same direction as the highway, but allow me time to see some scenery, some people, and smaller towns.  I can see how the people live in certain areas and get a feel of the community there.  The big highway doesn’t afford me that opportunity. I’m going as fast as is allowed, all in the desire to get to my destination as quickly as possible, but I’m missing all the good stuff along the way.

I’m starting to feel the same way about social networking. I am a geek, I love online communities, new gadgets, and the new shiny things that come our way on a daily basis.  That being said, none of those things matter if you never take the time to look around and see who’s living in your online communities.  If we continue burning gas, putting the pedal to the floor in the hopes that we’ll be the first to sign up and use every new thing that comes along, we’ll miss all the good stuff.

When I first joined my friend Syene’s BBS in my local town, my online community was all about the ‘local’ people.  We had picnics, we met together and played L.O.R.D. and got to know each other.  When the first internet provider showed up and we connected to the rest of the world, then the local community died down a bit for me because I was amazed at the idea of meeting people from all over the world.  I traveled all over the US, Canada and Europe meeting people in person that I’d met online and it truly changed my perspectives on many levels.  Now, interestingly, I find myself using my online communities to focus, once again, on my local community.  I’m certainly still keeping in touch with what people are doing outside my local area, but the most rewarding relationships I have these days are right here in my hometown.

It feels good to take the back roads again.

Unintentional Connections

My job is all about bringing people together through the use of technology. I absolutely love it and have no qualms about saying that I think I have one of the best jobs ever. I would never have thought in a million years when I was playing L.O.R.D. on my friend’s BBS in 1994/95 that I’d now have the job title of “Social Networks Adviser”.  I’ve said before though (and I’m saying it again) that I truly and strongly believe that there is such power in online communities. It becomes so much more than the sum of its parts and even saying that it’s synergistic seems to be an understatement.

My journey into social networking started on a friend’s BBS. I met the friend because she hired me (in an interview at my local Dairy Queen, no less) to work in the chiropractic clinic that she managed. She started her own BBS and told me about it. After we purchased our first computer (Macintosh PowerPC) and I connected to her local BBS, I was hooked.  Not long after that the internet arrived in our little town (oooooo). A friend I met on the BBS told me about IRC and I started hanging out there.  That friend led to others and over the course of time, I grew to know many people and became an IRCop on dal.net  (It was a big deal at the time, trust me).  During those “IRC” years, I met and made so many connections online that people started hosting offline ‘gathers’ in their area and friends would travel all over the country to meet people in person. I attended several of these events and it was like a family reunion each and every time.  In 1999 while I was hanging out in an IRC channel on dal.net called #ircbar (which is funny because I really don’t drink that much) I met a man who would later become my husband, but I certainly didn’t know that at the time either.

Skip forward a few years and now social networking takes on an entirely different meaning with completely new tools. We’re using twitter, virtual worlds, blogs, video, podcasts, etc.. to connect with people in ways we never could before. We’re chatting and connecting and making new friends that might live halfway across the world from us, without batting an eye.

My job, I think, is really intended to help our students make these connections with each other, and grow a true sense of community from that.  We’re working on that, and getting there with small steps toward that goal and I think we’re doing a good job.  In doing this, though, there have been some connections that were not intentional and have come to be some of the most amazing people I’ve met.

I feel almost as though I’ve spent so many years connecting with people from all over the US and the world, and now that’s almost completely spun around for me and the most powerful connections I’m making are right here in my small town.  At the same time, though, I honestly believe that even though these people work for the same university I work for, and live in the same town that I live in, I would never have been able to connect with them like I have.. without the use of social networking.

There’s something about online conversations and online community that lends itself so beautifully to opening doors. I’m not sure if it’s the lack of traditional barriers or if it’s just the ease of communication, but once again.. online connections are changing my world. I couldn’t be happier.