YMMV.

There are 30 celebrities, 10 Brochowskis I don’t know, and 11 businesses or brands. There are 30 who I’ve never met, save for 2 phone calls, 30 I only know in passing, and 22 I’ve never met who are local who I’m making it my goal to try and meet soon. This leaves about 716 that I’ve met and know. I might have worked with them.  I definitely have a memory of them, and I can probably identify their voice. Many I see on a daily, or at least weekly to monthly basis.

Of course I’m talking about my Facebook Friend list.

But why?

Sunday, I heard a friend say that all this great technology was actually ruining “real communication.” I of course balked at this. I love this great technology. I think it has actually enhanced communication. In the interest of keeping the peace I didn’t argue with my friend.

Yesterday I noted that more than a few folks are “giving up Facebook for Lent,” so I shared this observation on my Timeline.

“I suppose it could just be me, but if you give up Facebook or some other social network for Lent aren't you really just saying: ‘I don't value those relationships so I'm okay with just blowing them off for 40 days?’”

i.e. In other words, ergo and forsooth, I think giving up Facebook could ruin (at least some part of) communication.

But that’s just my opinion, which is why I posted that. I wanted to have the discussion that followed.

Responses ranged from 100% agreement to Facebook is too new to establish cultural norms to  “Or is it saying because I value those relationships/form of communication, I am willing to give up something valuable to me for God for Lent?”

I agree with every one of them.

What?

Okay, no not really.

I understand that there are many who see social networks like Facebook, Twitter, and even blogs as nothing more than idle pursuits. Even folks who participate in those mediums sometimes downplay them as being nothing more than time wasters, stuff to do when there is nothing else to do.

But that’s not me.

I see social networks as valuable additions to those tools we already had at our disposal for communication because to me it’s not about the tools.

It’s about the people. Plain.And.Simple.

Now, I’m not passing judgment on folks who have decided to give up Facebook for Lent if they see that as a true sacrifice, if they just need a break, if they are resolved to use other perhaps more personal forms of communication to reach out to people in their lives. If they are trying to strengthen their relationships I’m all for that, and I will allow that my statement in passing doesn’t allow for their reasoning behind their decisions, not that they owe anybody an explanation.

But I wonder if we realize the true power of all these tools as we put them to use every day. I wonder if we understand the implications of our actions? Do we get that we might only know about what’s going on in each other’s lives because of our social network, and how valuable just knowing is to one friend, or another.

While I might know, in person, at least 700 some odd people on my friend list I am very aware that in all likelihood, without these tools I would not have the contact, the interactions with many of them that I have now, and I don’t believe for a second that would be a good thing. Not at all.

Don’t misunderstand -

I get that Facebook is “just Facebook,” and Twitter is “just Twitter,” etc... and so on...

I value personal interaction more than any other form of communication. I’d like to sit with all of you for hours, conversing deep into the night holding a beverage in hand, wiping a tear, or sharing a laugh.

Unfortunately, as we all know, that’s not possible. There just aren’t enough hours in the day, or dollars in the bank account for the travel necessary to bring us together.

While I would never advocate for replacing a personal interaction, a letter, an email, or even a phone call, (okay maybe a phone call - I do hate the phone) I would hope that folks might realize and value the social network communication that sometimes might have to suffice, and be grateful for it rather than seeing it as a commodity that we can simply cast aside.

Your Mileage May Vary.

Perspective

photo credit to Netter.

I took this one.

Sometimes, in fact a lot of times, it's just depends how you look at things...

Took this one with Mulligan pulling me the other way.

OneWebDay

I've got several projects with quickly approaching deadlines going on right now so the blog is a bit thin on material recently. I'm sorry about that. (I know, you're not supposed to apologize like that. I just did. Sue me.)

I do want to take a minute to highlight something, especially for my Columbus audience that I think is very important, and really one of the best ideas I've ever seen.

If you haven't already, head over to Shiny Door and check out the details OneWebDay.

I've talked before about the importance of technology, not just that it's become such a integral part of our society, but that so many lack access, lack knowledge, and don't have anyone to teach them how as it were.

Every day at the library I talk to at least one person who has to accomplish some task, whether searching for housing, signing up for an email account, applying for a job, creating a resume, or even applying for unemployment or other government assistance. All of these things are made that much more difficult when "you just don't know how."

Now, a lot of times when you just don't know how, you can just not do it. (Like my math homework in high school, but that's another story.) But you just can't "not do," things like those listed above because things like housing and jobs are pretty darned important aren't they?

To even take this to the next level - What if these folks could create a network for themselves using Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter - how much better would quality of life be for them. How much more included and most especially valued would they feel if they just knew how?

Take a big breath there and think about that for a second. What would your life be like without technology? Or how about without the Internet?

Yeah, I feel that way too. Very, very fortunate indeed.

Many folks are not so fortunate, Too many are just plain getting left behind, and frankly Scarlett that just stinks.

Well, I give a damn. I know you do too, and as fate would have it, we are not alone.

From the Wiki:

This
year, OneWebDay focuses on the importance of access to fast, affordable, open Internet for all people, otherwise known as digital inclusion. OneWebDay Columbus has planned an array of activities around the idea of digital inclusion, including classes and seminars, technology refurbishment and more. At OneWebDay Columbus participants will have a variety of opportunities to both volunteer (example - refurbish computers) and learn (example - Legalities of Open Source Software workshop). If you cannot spend time at our event but still want to be a part of this worldwide day of web celebration, please consider donating computer components no longer in use. We will be using them to teach the refurbishing and recycling. Our experts can take old slow computers and turn them into useful tools again.
For more information on Columbus OneWebDay join us at http://my.onewebday.org/group/cbusowd and help make it One Web. For All.

In the end, it's all about access. We have it. Too many others don't.

OneWebDay brings us together so that everybody is included, so that everyone has access, so that everyone has an opportunity to learn how.

I am trying to clear my schedule to participate. I will definitely be donating some computer components.

Maybe you can help out too?

We're all in this together after all.

Learn & Play @ CML Thing #22 MOLDI

Yes, that says MOLDI - as the Learn & Play blog says "yeah, I know, horrible acronym, but great service."

It is a great service, but I have to admit to having at least some reservations.

Finding material is easy enough - search features are very simple with several ways to search for different types of material.

Checking out, as it were is also very easy. Simply following instructions and looking for some intuitive cue words like "add to cart" I found it to be very much like online shopping.

The rest of the process is also easy enough - You "checkout" your ematerial. It's downloaded to your computer or portable media player, as is the “reader software,” if needed, and cha - ching you are on your way.

Cool, I thought - now how does it get returned? Or more accurately, if I'm an author and I want to keep my copyrighted material mine - how can I do that?

I know it's the digital age and everything is available to everybody, but as a creative type I wonder about such things.

I did some quick digging on MOLDI and then took this question to my Twitter community. "After 14 days, do items delete themselves or is it " a trust thing?" I can't find an answer." I know, I probably would have found an answer eventually, but I find the layout of most FAQ pages to be cludgy. I also think FAQ's with perspective are much more fun.

The answer seems to be as follows "They delete themselves from your computer, but if you burned them to disc nothing happens," as in they can be played "...forever and ever."

So, I asked my friend CychoLibrarian who knows about such things if that bothered anybody?

His reply - Well, it was perfect.

"It doesn't bother me, but only because the publishing industry is clueless about how to handle the digital age."

See - call me old fashioned, but when I create something I want to keep it. I like to share it, but it is still ultimately "mine." Take my writing for example - If you follow this blog with any regularity you know that this is very personal for me. I would like to think that if I had something worth distributing to the masses I would feel the same. It's very personal.

Still I can't find fault with my friend's viewpoint. The publishing industry really is clueless in this instance - so what do we do?

Well, the only thing left really is a term I learned about not long ago - radical trust - I may be bending it a little to fit my purposes here, but to me putting creative work out in this medium requires quite a bit of "letting go of control..."

So, for our purposes today - what do I think of MOLDI? I think it's a great way to take the library to the community and provide a virtual presence. I found many titles I would check out - AND return.

Let's hope more folks do the same.

*edit - I want to also give credit to my friend KKBookmom for pointing me to the actual MOLDI FAQ's.