Family Connections
Just read about a service called Friends For Families on Techcrunch. It aims at providing matchmaking services for families who want to make new friends with compatible dynamics.
In a country like America where a large number of people are immigrants, either from other countries, or from other parts of the US, an individualistic, lonely culture has developed over the centuries.
Contrast that with the farming culture of yore, with large families, 13 children, 33 family members, gathering for Thanksgiving dinner.
The Internet has made people computer-centric, and tuned out from the activities that require engaging with people face-to-face. On the other hand, it has also created opportunities for connecting with like-minded people much, much more efficiently. This new service, Friends For Family, sounds like yet another step in this direction.
And for a rather specialized kind of social networking, read this story from Sixty Minutes:
Sperm Donor Siblings Find Family Ties
Children, Moms Using The Web To Find Anonymous Relatives
Sparks some ideas of your own?
I think you are spot on when you say “The Internet has made people computer-centric, and tuned out from the activities that require engaging with people face-to-face.”
My personal evaluation is that the exponential growth of the internet has made search much easier but discovery much harder. The internet is about technology and not about the user. And, as a result, the likelihood of discovering someone interesting is profoundly small. It does happen but, when it does, one must also consider the opportunity cost of not having an efficient system.
But we’re working on that…
Mark
http://www.markseremet.com
Mark, Yes. But.
10 years ago, I met a woman on the Internet with whom I shared a passion for a certain Latin American dance. At the time, I ran DAIS, was notionally based in California and Calcutta (India), and spent a lot of time on airplanes. She lived (still does) in a little village in Umbria, Italy. Since the travel times were long, I used to often spend weekends in Europe, and on one of my trips, visited her in Italy. She hosted me with a special dance under the stars, attended by all the dancers in the village, and arranged for me to see the premier of a film at the Venice film festival. Memories I will never forget.
Discovery, I would say, and a rather charming one, wouldn’t you say?
Sramana