We live in a great technological information-rich society. But I wonder if we really appreciate what that means? Or, are we just getting swamped with stuff?
I, for one, am really glad that we have so many technical tools at our disposal – Tools that, once we learn to use them properly, will open the floodgates to communication the likes of which the world has never seen.
I’m seeing it already. I’ve met personally some of the most wonderful people through the internet. Sometimes our contact is only a fleeting encounter. But, sometimes I’ve actually had the pleasure of meeting wonderful people who have become longstanding friends.
I don’t condone too much transparency to begin with. It’s better to be somewhat guarded at first because… you just never know. The Internet is hugely abused. Too many people think that it allows them to be unethical, to lie, cheat and abuse people. It does make it very easy for people to create mythical personas for themselves – very different than what exists in real life. That’s frightening. You just never do know who’s on the other end of the email transmission. It takes time to build relationships online – even more than in real life – because you’re restricted to knowing a person based only on what they choose to tell you…which may or may not be the truth.
On the other hand. Once in awhile you find a true diamond. You and that other person have a LOT in common. You take the time to get acquainted. You discover a unique synergy. Whether you ever meet in person or not, you know you’ve found a true friend for life. These are the people clear across the world that you would never have had the opportunity to meet any other way. They’re the people next door, that you’ve never had the good fortune to have met. They’re real people.
We’re not talking about the autoresponders. Those are machines with canned messages fed into them for mass distribution usually to sell us something. We’re talking about the one-on-one efforts communications from real people able and willing to reach out through the ethernet to touch you personally.
It’s easy to get jaded about computers when you’re constantly fighting with them and when you’re swamped with spam. But don’t forget, there are some really good people on the other end of your email.
Enjoy!