Ponder This
Ponder this with me.
Thanks to Skype, I can do pre-marriage counseling with couples that live halfway across the country. Offline trumps online, but the possibility to meet up “face-to-face” is possible wherever there’s an internet connection.
Thanks to Livestream, every sermon I preach is available to the entire world. God’s word, through me, can (and does) literally go to the ends of the earth. My grandmother in Ohio can watch me preach. That’s huge.
Thanks to Twitter, I have mentors that live in all parts of the country. While offline, in-the-flesh connection is preferred, I can count on these relationships to strengthen my life. They are real.
Thanks to Facebook, I have a virtual connection with members from my 11,000 member church that I would never have otherwise. They know me and I know them.
Thanks to Foursquare, I am getting to know the manager at a local coffee shop better because I’m the Mayor. And at this coffee shop, the Mayor drinks free 
Thanks to this blog, I’ve had the chance to interact with all of you. People I largely would never have met otherwise. I’ve even had authors that I respect stop by and thank me for writing about their book. Amazing.
Social networking does have its perils. This much is for sure. Loss of privacy, device obsession, check-in overdose … Bad. But this new wave of human communication opens doors that have previously remained slammed shut. I think this overwhelmingly beneficial.
The world is changing. You have a voice. People are listening. Go.
Thank you for sharing this… definitely puts a good perspective on all this!
Thanks to Disqus and IntenseDebate I feel like I have a reason (besides the connecting aspect) to comment on blog posts because of the rep system with intensedebate and the total comments with disqus.
Am I the only commenter that pays close attention to this?
I think technology is doing some great things and allowing people to connect.
But, I think there are some things that are troubling with all of this. I love that i can connect with people that I never would be able to, but I also feel like it has let me down in thinking that it is a true connection. I am not saying you are saying this Justin, I just have realized over time that social media is only half of interaction. There is still something about meeting face-to-face.
I think this is the brilliance of the movie “Up in the Air”
They battle the idea of using online to communicate and the face to face connection.
Just some thoughts.
But, because of social media I have been able to meet a lot of cool people and have conversations with them that I never would have been able to and even meet up with them in real life. All in all I would say the positives out weigh the negatives.
Oh yeah!
It's community-moderated comments. Your friends give you cred … The way it should be!
Kyle… You bet. I think you're onto something. Online is only half the piece in places where there is potential for offline relationship.
I'm certainly not suggesting that one can ultimately replace the other. I do think that they can compliment, and even supplement in some cases, very nicely.
very cool.
it is amazing the connections I have made since I started taking this more seriously, but then again I am sitting in front of my computer more often – at home.
Exactly, not the answer, but can definitely lead to further convo and can supplement in some ways.
No not at all. That is why a lot of people use these types of comment systems. Because it drives commentors to have a bigger rep and or amount of comments to their name.
You have a bigger rep on ID and people read your comments.
But the only downside of ID and even disqus is that it slows your blog down in load speed and ID drops comments sometimes.
Yea, I used ID on my blog (wordpress) for a while and noticed the same thing. I don't have that site anymore. However I have found better load times with disqus when I use it on tumblr.
i was in meeting people before social media…and will continue to be…social just allows me to widen the connection loop…but i intentionally try to meet as many in real life as i can…
I like to say social media simply opens the door to more…but it's up to me to walk in and develop the relationship. Like you said, I believe the new perspectives are invaluable. Being exposed to insight from people who aren't sitting next to you is refreshing, eye-opening and motivating. In short, I'm with you.
Bingo, girl. You nailed it!
Speaking of connections made through social media … My wife and I will be up at Bethel for graduation next weekend. Maybe a Bloom stop is in the mix? You guys still at the same joint?
Bingo, girl. You nailed it!
Speaking of connections made through social media … My wife and I will be up at Bethel for graduation next weekend. Maybe a Bloom stop is in the mix? You guys still at the same joint?