When Friend Becomes a Verb

" Because friendship depends on mutual revelations that are concealed from the rest of the world, it can only flourish within the boundaries of privacy; the idea of public friendship is an oxymoron." Christine Rosen

I have read Christine Rosen's articles before. One of the discussions I had with my classes as a music teacher was, "Can we simply assume an iPod is a good thing?" Of course, this was not always so much of a discussion as a series of disbelieving statements, like, "Mr. Roman, of course an iPod is one of the most desired objects in my life." Many of my talking points for that discussion came from Ms. Rosen's articles, The Age of Egocasting. She was even kind enough to answer some questions that my classes compiled and emailed to her.

More recently, Ms. Rosen's article on Facebook and Myspace came to my attention through The New Atlantis. The quote at the beginning of this post highlighted an important point for me; my relationships with people flourish when I spend time with them. People get excited when they are able to see, face to face, friends that they have not seen in awhile.

There is a certain excitement that arises from being "friended", but it quickly fades, and for me, the ensuing correspondence is dull, not nearly as vivid and important as face to face contact. An important questions is, then, "What role does and should social networking play in our circle of friends?" This question is even more important as we think about what "social networking norms" are being developed on these sites.

I'm not sure that people spending extreme amounts of time on social networking sites would disagree with my statements, but there does seem to be a kind of downhill rollercoaster ride once you get involved on a site like Facebook and start to "make" and receive friend requests. It is harder to question the value of "friending" as you go along. The number of friends goes up, and you want to get more involved.

What do you do when somebody you once knew in highschool, ten years ago, decides they want to friend you? How much information does he or she really need to know about your life? What if you simply don't respond? Why make this connection online if it can't or won't be made in person, or even on the phone?

I ask these questions to keep myself engaged with the issues of what makes a piece of technology or a virtual community good. This is much the same reason I read the article wondering how "good" an iPod really is. These devices and sites are a sort of disconnection from what makes life and friendships real. Though I often comment about how "cool" a device like the iPod (Touch or iPhone) are, I wonder if I spend to much time coveting them?

Really, I worry that I should spend much more time with the people around me than with my iPod or on Facebook. Just today it was said on the radio that the money-making engine of the internet is advertising. But really, how much more do I need to buy?

Christine Rosen says, "Real intimacy requires risk—the risk of disapproval, of heartache, of being thought a fool. Social networking websites may make relationships more reliable, but whether those relationships can be humanly satisfying remains to be seen."

If I am truthful to myself, I quickly realize that I am really happiest when I am happy with other people.

Free Enterprise Language Program

Mango Beta Launched!
I'm hoping I can save my brother, and all of you readers,some cold hard cash. I know most language programs cost hundreds of dollars (my brother has bought a few and I've borrowed from him). I've never found them that great, I mean a CD doesn't really help too much. But if you are interested, Mango seems to have a really nice Flash program for learning multiple languages, including: French, German, Italian, Greek, Spanish, Japanese, Mandarin Chinese, Russian, and even Pig Latin! (for fun and practice fixing bugs, as they say)
I signed up in about 20 seconds and was learning Spanish. The program is a nice mix of hearing, seeing, and interaction. You can hover over words to get pronunciation, and you can click to hear the word again. Very nice!
If things go well, I will be writing my next post in multiple languages. Adios!

Blogged with Flock

Drinking Lemon Juice- Straight from the Bottle

This evening my wife and I watched our sons open the fridge; my older son pulled out the large bottle of lemon juice concentrate,  took a large swig, and put the bottle back with a big, satisfied sigh issuing from his puckered lips. 
I am not sure what would possess him to drink straight-up lemon juice like that, but he sure seemed to enjoy it.
So, my advice is... when your feeling down, hang out with some cool kids, or just grab a bottle of lemon juice.

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I'm Getting a "BlogRush"

My excuse for going to the computer is often that I'm going to read "my news", which is a great way to rationalize my need to browse a hundred feeds a day. I like to contribute my own blogs on fascinating topics and books I am reading. In an effort to increase those people whom might stumble across my blog, I've added the "BlogRush" widget to my page. It is a scheme to provide a kind of automated blogroll on your page for people who might blog in the same category as you. It has a pyramid scheme feel to it, but know money involved, at least at the free level. It also has a built in stats page.

Of course, the problem with lowly blogs is that you don't want to write without a readership, but must write to gain a readership.

I guess that means I should write about my plan to save the world.... tomorrow.