Comments on: People Watching in a World of Avatars

By: Juergen B

Juergen B — Wed, 27 May 2009 02:54:23 +0000

Such a nice post, Amber... I love the idea of "immersing yourself in someone’s microworld"... Would you say you are more attuned to this now than before your experiences with Social Media? In one of his recent posts Gil Yehuda talks about a "virtual familiarity" index that Social Media helps establish among remote co-workers in E2.0, and it reminds me that getting to know one another virtually is a fantastic pre-cursor to actually meeting in person and getting to enjoy the subtle humanity of the actual experience of one another. My photography professor had a saying : "a thing is what it is only in relation to what it is not... I like the juxtaposition of the virtual prepping us for a real experience that is then deeper than it might have been... Juergen Bs last blog post..Could a bicycle sharing program work in New York City?

By: Stacy Lukas

Stacy Lukas — Fri, 22 May 2009 06:41:33 +0000

I totally agree with you here, nothing will ever truly replace, nor be as genuine, as the in-person-ness. Yet at the same time, I also really appreciate how we get to know each other through our avatars/blogs/online-presences before we even meet in person -- hell, you knew who I was immediately in person (and vice versa), and I think that only enhanced those later moments of sharing our tattoo stories and discovering a mutual love of Sandman comics. Had we not known each other online first it wouldn't have been so much fun! Stacy Lukass last blog post..blip.fm adds YouTube videos, indie musicians benefit BIG TIME

By: edwardboches

edwardboches — Fri, 22 May 2009 01:33:17 +0000

What a great reminder to get away from the screen, at least the one sitting on your desktop. And yes, you must be a pretty good people watcher, for your descriptions -- vivid, detailed, concise -- create pictures for the reader. I've recently had the pleasure of meeting a number of folks I had only known on Twitter and was instantly reminded that this two dimensional view, while a powerful way to connect and communicate, reveals only the surface. Get out there. There are real people behind those avatars. edwardbochess last blog post..Learn to give a speech without a podium, without a script, without a teleprompter.