From oil dependence to local resilience
In Your Face-book!!!
I just added this as a discussion. Curious to see if there is any response:
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OK - So I have been cordially invited to join Facebook. And, because I like the people who have invited me I am tempted to just do it. But it seems a shame, when there is a perfectly fine networking site set up here, locally - to not be using it as a first port of call.
Especially as another well informed friend has alerted me to the idea that Facebook and other corporate social networking sites are simply gathering portals for the CIA - well........conspiracy theory or not...........I am still more drawn to the idea of getting to know and navigate this great local resource.
Call me an electronic luddite - I still figure that one of the coolest applications of the internet is in the strengthening of local communities. But that means, a bunch of us have to like checking in......
So why not do it here? Ideas?
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OK - So I have been cordially invited to join Facebook. And, because I like the people who have invited me I am tempted to just do it. But it seems a shame, when there is a perfectly fine networking site set up here, locally - to not be using it as a first port of call.
Especially as another well informed friend has alerted me to the idea that Facebook and other corporate social networking sites are simply gathering portals for the CIA - well........conspiracy theory or not...........I am still more drawn to the idea of getting to know and navigate this great local resource.
Call me an electronic luddite - I still figure that one of the coolest applications of the internet is in the strengthening of local communities. But that means, a bunch of us have to like checking in......
So why not do it here? Ideas?
Tags: community, local, networking
Add a Comment
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Comment by Briar Cook on June 24, 2009 at 3:12pm -
Well - it's been a couple of weeks and I have to say that the whole FB thing has been rewarding - in a limited way - but a perfect way to, for instance, grab the attention of local City counsellor, or find a couple of really good friends, or just stay in touch with those aquainances that choose to use the space.
Sure, most of it is trivial, but then, isn't that true of most human interaction? The actual words are only a small part of the exchange, and so it is online, as well...
But a nice hobby for the long cold winter months.......we'll see how it stacks up come summer.
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Comment by Christoph Hensch on June 3, 2009 at 12:46pm -
Hi Briar, the first thing that came to mind when reading your blog entry above was a recent experience at the Community Currencies Conference in Whaganui in April. It was an excellent and very inspiring gathering of people, exploring how we could do trading and exchange and economics better than we do now. Of all the excellent workshops and presentations there was one in particular that stood out in an odd way. It was a presentation about the future of virtual online reality. I suppose it was done quite well, showing the good as well as the bad of the current developments, explaining the iPhone, Twitter, blogs and so on. However, at the end of it I felt 'frazzled', disembodied, dizzy - most uncomfortable and ungrounded. In actual fact, hearing this presentation almost convinced me to close all my online accounts and to stop using the Internet altogether. The most shocking statement was that "our children would not notice anymore the difference between the natural environment and human made virtual reality". Maybe this is already born out by those teenagers, who at Green Party Conference this week announced the formation of a new network within the Green Party, the Teen Greens. They partly justfied this with the fact that they were different from all the people that were BG - "Before Google"!
Anyway, I haven't abandoned the Internet (yet). Like any man-made thing, it is a tool. Using it is alright as long as I'm the master. However, I've been alerted to the fact that I must teach my children the essential difference between 'natural' and 'man-made', and we have to make sure that we never confuse the two.
To remark on your question about using Facebook vs. the Transition Ning: They are different tools for different things. I appreciate this Ning for the like-minded community of members. This is the place where I don't have to explain and justify myself. Where I don't have to convince others. Where I can exchange experiences and knowledge, where I can learn.
Facebook is where I share different kinds of information, where I connect with a different sort of people. This Ning is the 'in-group' - on Facebook I mostly consort with the 'out-group'. I think both has its place in my life. It's just a different ecosystem, with different species ...
But Briar, I'm absolutely happy to converse with you on this Ning rather than on Facebook!
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Comment by Bruce on June 3, 2009 at 12:26pm - maybe use that group that gets together and does craft things as a nucleus...? just brainstorming...
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Comment by Bruce on June 3, 2009 at 12:25pm
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ah, believe it or not after much badgering from friends and the final push from John Bushell I joined facebook. I find the interaction to be pretty trivial, OTOH there is a thrill when a good friend from high school that I probably haven't seen in 25 years found and friended me. I find it wants a high speed connection and a good computer for best results, tho I know people seem to be all facebooky on NZ dial up.
I haven't found it to be more interesting or compelling than the occasional thrill as above. I go weeks without looking at it.
Let's see, using this instead? Well, this does different things. Facebook has the numbers, which you want in a network. This site? Well, the problem with this site is that it has an agenda of its own, which shapes interaction. And the downer message of the site hasn't apparently attracted a lot of local peeps.
My suggestion, if you are looking for something quixotic to do, is to start a brand new network and invite all your pals etc to that. Structure and theme it for the kind of interaction you want to promote. That's how this site was created...
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