This week Google graced us with the release of their new online conversation world: Lively. Now I haven’t had a chance to actually check Lively out considering it isn’t available for Mac but to be honest I couldn’t be bothered to actually check it out. Here’s why:
On a daily basis I interact with people via Twitter, E-mail, MSN, GTalk, SMS and now Facebook Chat. I do spend a lot of time infront of my computer but it’s where I do my work on so I have no choice but to be on the computer. I think I must be suffering from Web 2.0 overload because I’m actually very tempted to delete all the above services.
I’m so sick and tired of this poor style of communication. We’re devolving into monkeys that are unable to have a proper conversation. Our lives are dominated by a style of talking where we have a chat window open and “communicate” back every thirty or so seconds while I’m doing something else. Firstly that style of communication is no better than talking to an autonomous robot and leaves me totally cold. Secondly that’s not a proper style of talking? If someone, on a face-to-face basis, replied to me every thirty seconds while doing something else I’d not bother speaking to them.
My other big issue is that you’re not yourself when you’re on the Internet. You can be so much “cooler” on the Internet and tend to act like more of a person you are than in real life. This pisses me off not only because it allows for arrogance and people being obnoxious, but because I do this myself despite being aware of it. If I know what mistakes I make and I still do it to an extent, what does it mean for people who aren’t aware? People who are nothing in reality are given respect simply because they have been online for a while.
My point is that people just aren’t communicating the same way we used to and I blame the simplicity of communicating via the Internet. Obviously some people cannot communicate as comfortably in reality as they cannot do online but here is my inherent point: get out there and meet some real people. The thing is, I’ve come into contact with some amazing people via the Internet but I’d not call them friends or even acquaintances since I have no idea how they are in reality.
I cannot wait for work to start full time next week so I’m offline!
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It’ a good point Saul and one that I think about often. I’m also bugged now and then by some of the ‘digging’ and bickering…I just want to do good work and have happy clients.
Hopefully I’ll meet you at 27dinner and you’ll see that I’m really not cool online or offline
Hahaha! Well I’m also terminally uncool so we can sit in the loser group at the geeky 27 Dinner (oh the irony).