Social Networking

[Brett Barndt]

So interesting to read all of this. This is all a fascinating discussion.
Although I am old enough to be highly critical of what I experience when I
use these tools, I do rejoice that connectivity and convergence and user
inspired innovation does bring us closer to an 'open space' on the planet.

I marvel every day at every nail that goes into the coffin of another
sacrosanct and debilitating institution I used to trust or at least think
would out live me, much caused by these faster and uncontrollable
communications and messaging links between lots and lots of people and their
friends.

Vive l'etre humain!

I participated in a course on Networked Collaboration last year at New
School. We used all these techniques including Second Life. I have to say I
didn't find it particularly enabling collaboration as I am used to, but it
did enable meetings, exchanging files, media, information, finding people to
reach out to and talk to and facilitating that when face-to-face was geo or
logistically out of the question.

The tools are kind of a continuum from way back before the telephone. They
are moving more and more toward dis-intermediating the 'organization' and
power structures we have all grown up with and that is a basic model of
something like the East India Tea Company, or the Vatican or something.

However, some scholars think that even the tent meeting circuits of the
1800s did some damage to diversity of discourse and even the scope of the
active vocabularly of the average citizen. That road continued with radio
and networked television. The book of course did in oral traditions, but
made larger collective consciousnesses and memories possible over a wider
group.

That is the remarkable thing about all of this. Hundreds and thousands of
people are now connected to send critical information around. In some
countries. Mobile phones have been able to mobilize 100,000s outside the
reach of the dictatorial regime when the army took the radio station or
telephone network off line. That happened in the Philippines about 10 yrs
ago. We rejoice that today at a touch of a button, we can jam telephone
lines to Capitol Hill or take House.gov and Senate.gov off-line because of
voter engagement and outrage as happened on the weekend last Fall when
Congress was deliberating on the First Great Bank Bailout Bill. Those guys
used to work in the dark, were men behind the curtain, and more or less had
their cake, ate it and thought they would continue to do that.

There is something useful to all of this.

Although the FCC and the Internet in this country is still a little too
centralized. Google would probably be the thing the tanks would go after if
the Russians or Chinese ever invaded. Although where is Google? I hear the
servers are in barns in Oregon burning through a lot of air con every day.
The radio station is the first thing the Russians went for in 1968 in the
Prague Spring. Of course, lawyers for Verizon, AT&T and Time Warner are
trying hard to unlevel the playing field and legislate advantages for
themselves and disadvantages for us. The legal system in this democracy is
very vulnerable that way, this Supreme Court and its lifetime appointees is
not 'activist' in the sense of ruling for 'equality' over other kinds of
property rights...and the Internet and all of this rapid Citizen Connection
Capability is clearly scaring these companies as users move away from their
banal, degrading and distracting content. Their cake is at risk too!

Twitter, Facebook, Google et al are simply new building blocks we have to
construct new solutions which will change and evolve. These technologies are
infants and the users (i.e. us) have not developed the new protocols and
communications habits that it will take to make them truly useful. But,
people are trying and bending the rules, and there is space their for
innovators to do that.

Ralph mentioned telephone call as number 2 on his preferred list. 100 yrs
ago, he may not have said that. My grandmother vaguely spoke about a
telephone in the house in 1916. But, they weren't using it much for anything
except replacing sending letters and notes by footman. Livery was something
else she used to talk about. Motor cars too. But, that was purely a vanity
for pleasure on muddy rutty roads in the country.

It took us a long time to evolve to the point where a telephone feels
natural, and we actually know how to use it, know how to sense the emotions
of a person on the other side, know how to think of it as a device for
collaboration and real communication. At first you know people shouted into
it, and kept it brief cause it cost a lot.

Anyway. We all agreed in the class, that for those of us who really had
other ideas about what real communication and connection were, these tools
were no replacement. But, they were additive. Kind of removing letter
writing or address books, or making dozens of telephone calls to organize
meetings, or sending messengers or Fedex packages. Or even losing track of
old friends from many years ago. The connection on LinkedIn of Facebook
really makes it up to us to decide what to do with that in the First Life or
offline world, but the choice is now there as never before because of these
tools and the ability to find and choose to re-connect whatever that may be.

Twitter's purpose remains a mystery for a lot of people, but a friend of
mine assures me she managed to get a technical problem resolved with her ISP
because they found someone from the company active on Twitter, even when
they could get no joy from the Customer Service Desk to resolve their outage
problem. Seems people on Twitter may just be the movers and shakers, the
influencers who can get things done in companies, since it has become a form
of advertising one's professional qualities and activities. People claim
they get found for business or job offers based on the content of their
Twitter feed.

Trouble is maybe that it is modern life that has broken down the real
relationship and communication links between us, which necessitates the
urgency of breathless 'networking' for survival in a competitive business
world because other kinds of more durable relationship networks don't exist
for everyone anymore. Bowling leagues and brass bands don't exist much
anymore, but they served a social purpose once. The number of a person's
'loose ties' evidently signifies more about how 'successful' (whatever that
is) they will be rather than their 'close ties'.  This may also be more
democratic in a way since in the old days what mattered was who your father
was.

But, that would be more Milton Friedman question concerning his notions
about 'mobility of the workforce' as a central assumption of how capitalism
can best function, rather than anything intrinsic about Twitter.

Twitter may be more a reflection of a culture that has adopted (explicitly
or inexplicitly) that notion as a central tenet and value after 50 yrs of
indoctrination in media and politics and education and lots of other
collective memory building kinds of places like the Ayn Rand craze in the
1950s.

That is where many of us are today, and these 'communication' devices
reflect that. And fortunately like every one of our institutions, many if
these central 'tenets' that shaped our contemporary culture are also being
examined again and shown to be lacking.  Greenspan's testimony in Congress
on Oct 23, 2008 really exposes the canon orthodoxy.

Maybe through all of these tools we can use this new emergent 'public space'
as a way to by-pass some of the more controlled communications channels that
more or less indoctrinated us into believing there was only one way for
their own economic gain all these years.

I can't wait to see what Gen Y does with all this stuff when they come into
their Majority in a few years since they outnumber the Baby Boom in numbers
and in education!





On Mon, Mar 30, 2009 at 2:02 PM, Karen Sella <karen at luminacoaching.com>wrote:

>  A few more musings about Twitter, Facebook, and the like…
>
>
>
>
>
> Like some of you who have shared here, I haven’t caught the Twitter-bug
> yet, but know colleagues and friends who appreciate the medium—for
> entertainment, marketing, networking, etc.  Of course, I’m typically, though
> not always, a late adopter of new technology—curious but not enough to spend
> much time exploring new tech applications until they become blatantly useful
> or requisite for the work/play at hand—and even then, I’m rarely invested
> enough in the mediums to optimize their usefulness, as anyone who has
> visited my blog will no doubt note [sheepish grin].  Having a college-age
> sibling eighteen years my junior inspired early adoption of instant
> messaging and Facebook—mostly as a way to get to know her in her preferred
> communication modes (although we did have to adopt a few of my own
> old-fashioned communication norms—*no divided attention*—i.e. no
> communicating with me while doing other things—like instant messaging two
> other friends while checking email while talking on the phone while writing
> a term paper while instant messaging me [grin]).  These relatively
> superficial points of contact cumulatively create enough comfort and
> currency between us—by currency, I mean knowing enough about each other’s
> current experience of existence to care to connect with each other—to
> inspire more meaningful connections in phone calls and face-to-face
> interactions.
>
>
>
> Though definitely no substitute, these virtual exchanges support a more
> meaningful visceral relationship with my sister and many other colleagues,
> friends, and family who’ve decided to connect in this way too.  I still
> consider my participation there a social networking experiment, but one that
> I have found to be quite useful for keeping in touch with various friends
> and family all over the world and from different time periods in my life.
> Actually, because of my global upbringing, it’s the first time ever that all
> of my contacts can show up in one place aside from a battered address book
> [grin].
>
>
>
> On another level, I sometimes wonder if Twitter tweets (and Facebook status
> updates to some extent) aren’t somehow the collective chatter of the “monkey
> mind” of consciousness… all the individual internal chatter—or at least some
> of it—made visible to a broader collective—and like individuals chasing
> these psychological monkeys, so do crowds… just wondering.  I say this not
> to dismiss the value of the content shared there.  There are some real
> insightful gems and pointers within the virtual chatter.  Some people
> probably benefit from putting their thoughts “out there,” whether sublime or
> inane, and others benefit from following these thoughts.  Like all forms of
> communication, I imagine some people use Twitter and Facebook, and all the
> myriad forms of social networking to contribute to the collective meaning of
> existence.  Others I imagine are merely there to “twitillate” and be
> “twitillated” as yet another meaningless distraction.  Somehow, following
> “friends” on Twitter or Facebook seems like a step up the evolutionary
> ladder of distraction from following “Friends” on TV.  Plus, as someone who
> likes her quiet, I appreciate that there’s a quieter way for folks who want
> to be in constant contact to do so—people who chatter away on the
> cell-phones in public challenge my compassionJ.
>
>
>
> Thanks for opening space for me to wonder aloud… I appreciate learning here
> with youJ.
>
>
>
> Warmly,
>
> Karen
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Karen Sella
>
> Coaching:  www.luminacoaching.com
>
> Consulting:  www.integralventures.com
>
> Blog: www.lumina.typepad.com
>
> Phone: 1.206.780.2998
>
> Skype: karensella
>
>
>
>
>
> lumina fr. L. *light, air, opening... ***
>
> * *
>
> *The information contained in this message may be privileged, confidential
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>
> *From:* OSLIST [mailto:OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU] *On Behalf Of *Michael
> Herman
> *Sent:* Monday, March 30, 2009 8:55 AM
> *To:* OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
> *Subject:* Re: [OSLIST] Social Networking
>
>
>
> some thoughts on what's been said so far.  full disclosure, i don't tweet.
> but i might be just on the edge of my tweet seat.
>
> i love what ralph says about not wanting to skip along your surface.  it
> seems that twitter is more likely to produce statements than questions, and
> not a great deal of depth.  but i think we've all seen proceedings documents
> where good conversations didn't produce the most impressive write-ups, or
> any at all.
>
> thinking about the larger conversation that twitter is part of, we know
> that the conversation on this oslist is different, and deeper, for the
> annual osonos travels of a small slice of us.  and that those gatherings are
> possible likely only because we keep the flame alive here online.
>
> twitter and facebook seem more like an extension of watching, a way to be
> all in the same place, a way to notice and relish that we are all at the
> same party, share many of the same people and interests, but don't
> necessarily have an intimate dialogue every time we have an event.  in the
> physical world of relationships, we go to a lot of meetings because being
> there is important, being present, witnessing, listening, and then there are
> relatively few moments when we step up and volunteer for something, or have
> an intimate, deeply meaningful side conversation, or ask for help in a
> crisis.  twitter and facebook are a way to "show up", a first step, in some
> sort of larger world that's emerging.
>
> as for the young, i just facilitated an afternoon program with 120 "high
> potential" high school seniors as part of a final selection process for
> full-ride scholarships to two excellent universities.  it was a cafe format,
> but the first session was used to write questions that these young leaders
> thought they and other young people should be addressing.  then we did three
> rounds in which table hosts picked the questions and raised them with
> whoever rotated to their table for one session.  after the first
> question-making session, the 20 tables went in 20 different directions, like
> an open space with so many small stakes in the ground.  and i went around
> picking up cups and the last bits of box-lunch trash in cafe-style, with a
> small tray and quiet "can i take that out of your way?"
>
> for all of the potential for doubting statement-biased
> broadcast-by-twitter, these kids dug deep into the process of questionning
> and listening.  sitting back and listening to the plenary ending,
> indistinguishable (except for the tables and clustering) from an open space
> closing circle, i was impressed again by these folks, their ownership and
> engagement.  my guess is that we'd get the much the same result with almost
> any 100 kids, if they had the same chance to get together and question each
> other deeply.  the world continually ripening, no?
>
> m
>
>
>
> --
>
> Michael Herman
> Michael Herman Associates
>
> http://www.michaelherman.com
> http://www.ronanparktrail.com
> http://www.chicagoconservationcorps.org
> http://www.openspaceworld.org
>
> 312-280-7838 (mobile)
>
>  On Mon, Mar 30, 2009 at 9:21 AM, Pat Black <patoitextiles at gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
> Thanks for this post Ralph.  My experience with the platforms mentioned is
> similar to yours.  I have a couple of additional questions though especially
> reflecting on Holger's reflections people's initial reaction to cell phones.
>  I share your perspective that Twitter and other types of these social
> networking communications are unsatisfying in building relationship with
> other people.  I can see that they have some benefit as organizing tools
> where people working on the same puzzle can drop in their piece for everyone
> else to have instantaneously allowing the picture to emerge more quickly for
> more people.  What I wonder about is whether these types of short kind of
> bombish kinds of communication make it harder to communicate in silence.  I
> am reflecting on the constant use of cell phones to talk, text and tweet.
>  The need to be hooked up to the internet through cell phones, constantly
> being buzzed and directed to communications that don't seem important or
> even very interesting but make us feel like we are not alone.  I wonder if
> these constant superficial communications actually create a need for more
> intimacy while continuing to drive us down a less intimate road?  I wonder
> if even just the non stop communication makes it more difficult to be
> comfort in the space of quiet, separation and self?  As I read this I read
> judgement about the media which I actually don't believe I feel because I
> can see where they have great possibility in particular applications but the
> constantness of it is a concern for me.  When I sit at a dinner table with
> people who are texting while I sit across form them I wonder.
>
>
>
> On Mon, Mar 30, 2009 at 8:02 AM, Ralph Copleman <rcopleman at comcast.net>
> wrote:
>
> I signed up for a Twitter account, but apparently I have no need to tweet,
> so I'm not sure why I did it.  The very sound of the word, in English
> anyway,  is enough of a clue to me about the quality of the connection,
> though I suppose there will always be a place in our lives for the small
> comings and goings.
>
>
>
> Facebook.  Signed up there, too.  I check it about every second or third
> day.  I keep waiting for something to happen, something worth sinking teeth
> into.  Even if I say something I hope might result in richer dialogue,
> little of lasting import transpires.  But I must say I like it.  It's easy,
> and some folks I love whom I don't see regularly do post messages there.
>  Have heard from two old college chums, too, but I cannot say we are
> "re-connected" in any richer sense.  Linkedin.  Plaxo.  Forget them.  All I
> ever get are invitations to "connect" to people.  Nothing else.  No dialogue
> at all.  None.  I suppose I could derive benefit from them if I "worked"
> them, but I don't feel the need.
>
>
>
> Live and let live is my motto, and in my case, intimacy is what I crave,
> not more ways to skip along your surface.  Want me to "follow" you?  Write
> me something about what's really going on with you, and ask questions.  Send
> it to me.  I'll answer.  Want to follow me?  Well, ask me what you want to
> know.  And I'll ask you questions, too.  I'm not sure I want to bother the
> world with what I have for breakfast each day.  I understand some
> fame-soaked celebrities have people who ghost-write their tweets.
>
>
>
> Face-to-face.  Telephone conversation.  Letters and e-mail.  Listserves.
>  Everything else.  In that order.  The farther I go down the list, the less
> I experience any space being held by anyone, for anyone.  And here's a quote
> that came to mind for me.  Seems connected to this, sort of.
>
>
>
> "…the more sensitive and profound are your answers, the more effective the
> results."
>
>
> –– Peter Koestenbaum
>
>
>
> I'm off to deal with the growing backlash against the need to do a little
> something about global warming.  Who ARE these people!?
>
>
>
> Ralph Copleman
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
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