heidi go seek

I'm struggling to see the point of this article.

I'm a big advocate of the use of social networks to create physical networks, and I also like to use them to have awareness of what my physical contacts are doing.

Can I be friends with someone I only know through social networks? That's a good question. I can clearly find things in common with those people, and get an impression as to whether we would get on in person. Is it the same as a friendship created in person? Well, no, but there's no reason why it wouldn't be - and knowing about the life and connections I have with an individual, the strong the connection is likely to be in person.

There are all kinds of issues around the sizes of networks, and I've written before about stuff like the Dunbar constant (Leisa Reichelt is good on this subject too, linked in my post).

Do I use social networks as a self-promotional tool? That's another good question. I don't do so consciously, although I am aware of sometimes not being as digitally authentic as I might be. They are all part of "a life online"

One interesting discussion on the differences between friends, acquaintances etc. is from the Fresh Lime Soda podcast - I just got through listening to episode 8 where Suw and Steph talk more about the need for greater partitioning.

Interestingly there are people in my network(s) whom I very clearly don't feel "friends" with - usually where the connection I've made to them is not reciprocated. There are people I follow on Twitter who I know don't follow me, and that leaves me feeling shut out and more distant from those individuals. So it works in different ways.

I guess ultimately my comment here is just as disjointed as the article! :-)

Hi Andy, I knew if anybody would have good comments about this article it would be you! I'm actually thinking about putting my thoughts into a blog post on this one. Of course I don't agree with the author, but the article does bring up some interesting points on how we use the word "friend" these days. Does an online friend compare to a physical friend? Of course they're different but I disagree with the article in that I don't think online "friends" are less important than people you know in person.

I'm definitely going to check out your links (the podcast looks interesting) and then maybe I'll compose a blog post, but I'm sure it will be equally disjointed as the article and your comment ;)