Social Networking
douglas germann
76066.515 at compuserve.com
Mon Mar 30 19:45:38 PDT 2009
Michael and Ralph and Holger and all--
You always make me think, even when I don't want to.
I am wondering if Twitter and its like could be a rich place for offers
and invitations?
:- Doug.
On Mon, 2009-03-30 at 10:54 -0500, Michael Herman wrote:
> 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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