OpenKollab

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• What Is The Power of The Internet? [20 Updates]
• Aggregating Information on Socially Beneficial Models That Should Be Open Sourced [4 Updates]
• A Virtual Currency Initiative… [1 Update]

David Crane <dh.crane@gmail.com> Mar 26 10:59AM ^


 
I totally agree with Umair in that the vast majority of online
friendships are thin relationships. But I don't think that's much
different to the real world. I've got business cards from hundreds of
people who I'll probably never see or speak to again, however,
enthusiastically we swapped details at the time. Same is true for my
phone book. The simple fact of the matter is that it's impossible to
devote the time and care necessary to developing real, deep,
relationships with more than a handfull of people.
 
This in no way lowers the value of thin relationships. I have
relationships with people I only go to the football with, or only talk
tech to, or for that matter only talk just about tech security, or web
development, or iPhone apps. These relationships compliment my deeper
friendships and fill crucial gaps and aren't any less important
because they're confined to a solitary purpose,
 
The internet has always been brilliant at allowing people with shared
interests to get together. It's going to carry on connecting people
interested in a particular aspect of social change and the tools we're
building will hopefully make them better at doing so. The vast
majority of these will be "thin relationships" but that's no bad thing
at all. The investment being made in each other is based on shared
goals not a commitment to a lifelong friendship. And if those goals
are met and the relationship disolves that will be no different than
the 99.9% of relationships we have with people in the real world.
 
Dave