Pilgrim Notes

Reflections along the way.

Category: Community (page 5 of 5)

Dandelife

Dandlife is an interesting variation on the social networking. You tell stories and build a web stories that can interconnect with other story webs. Plus, companies can purchase these stories for brand research, case studies, etc. Marshall Kirkpatrick at Tech Crunch is uncomfortable with this idea. I’m not sure what to think. But the site is interesting.
Every day another social networking development. Seems folks are scrambling to jump in this phenomenon while it’s hot. It will be interesting to see what happens in a year or two with this stuff. After the explosion of various networks I wonder if some will fade or if there will be some connections between networks or if another form of tribalism will emerge with networks becoming more and more niche specific.

A lonely boy in a lonely world

Larry Norman once sang,

I’m a lonely boy in a lonely world
There’s no place left for me

Just as Paul Simon responded to Donne’s essay, For Whom the Bell Tolls by singing,

I am a rock,
I am an island

And of course, Bob Dylan expressed the sense of communal loss by singing,

How does it feel
How does it feel
To be without a home
Like a complete unknown
Like a rolliing stone?

Well, the press continues to talk about the increasing sense of loneliness in our world. New York Times today returns to the recent study on the growing loneliness in our culture. The Western World and America is continuing along a path of loneliness, isolation, and unrestrained individualism.

I’m not sure articles are enough to respond to the increasing trend. And in a world that loves techniques and methods, I don’t think there is a technique to address this. Although I’m sure publishers are already excited about the possibility of publishing a new slate of books on how to combat loneliness.

The reality is unrestrained individualism cannot help but lead to loneliness and isolation. Short term, self focused relationships cannot stem a growing sense of personal loss. The Internet may open channels for sustaining long term relationships but by and large most of them are short. Most online communities do not have long life spans.

It take time, a long time, to build deep trust. And we live in a world that knows the latest technology, can argue and polarize over politics, but fails to build enduring. Deep trust gives the soul room to risk and love and even sacrifice. But it will cost more than the latest iPod. It will cost time, and ultimately it will cost our lives.

Most people may still fear investing what a deep trusting relationship requires and would prefer some technique that can start working tomorrow. But those who chose to risk it all and let go of today for tomorrow, may discover an intimacy most never even realized was possible.


Shop Wiki

The wiki engine is now serving a shopping portal. This has potential to takes sites like shopping.com and shopzilla.com to a new level. Shop Wiki searches 120,000+ stores, allows customer reviews, customer shopping tip articles, customer video reviews. And in true wiki format, the content is out there for review and update by the community (though not the videos). Pretty cool.

Friendships

The story I cited yesterday seems to be taking legs. I’ve noticed several others folks writing and talking about social isolation and absence of friendships. Dr. Helen offers some interesting thoughts and questions what “friendless” means in terms of our behavior.

This is and has been a passion of mine for the last fifteen years. It part of why I’ve chosen to function bi-vocationally. Trying to learn how to pattern and live in a way that encourages the possiblity of lifelong intimate friendships drives much of what of I do.

I hope more will come of this article and more people will think deeply of their own friendships or lack thereof. Maybe some will rediscover ancient writings on friendships by folks like Cicero, Augustine and Aelred of Rievaulx. And maybe some will actually devote themselves to building lifelong loving relationships.

Is Virtual Community Community?

Online communities are exploding across the web offering new opportunities to join social networks each day. This catches my attention with my longing and study of community over the last 20 years. I see it as part of a larger trends that has been in motion for over 100 years. The ideas that gave rise to the Enlightenment challenged the collectivists oppression of Europe and sought to make room for the value of the Individiual.

These ideas played a fundamental role in the shaping of America. When Alexis De Tocqueville visited America in the early nineteenth century, he was fascinated by our individualism and highly valued it. Yet, he warned of the dangers of unrestrained individualism that would destroy the common good. He suggested that America has certain restraining forces that held individualism in check: civic commitment, family, and communities of faith.

The power of these forces have eroded giving rise to a culture of individual right and lacking individual responsibility. The side effect is individuals feeling cut off from the whole resulting in alienation, loneliness, meaninglessness and desire for a connection to something greater then themselves. Kierkegaard noted this development in mid nineteenth century and many existintialists and postmoderns have built upon in the 20th century.

The current explosion of online communities is but another manifestation of humans trying to find a way to connect–just as we saw in the the communes of the 60s. Local manifestations include the rise of knitting circles, quilting and other clubs, smoking rooms, reading circles and even a small group movement in the church. I see online communties developing and reshaping for years to come, but our sense of individualism is so strong that I do not think they or many other attempts at building social networks successfully connecting people in authentic lifelong relationships.

There may be a few deep relationships of lifelong reciprical love emerging from these trends but there will also continue to be many lonely, disatisfied people. Just today Washington Post ran an article about the growing sense of isolation among American in spite of the explosion of social networks.

I think businesses, civic leaders and churches would be wise to study this trend and think deeply about what responsibility they may have in helping encourage the formation of community in the workplace, online, the local community and the houses of worship.

I see this struggle between individulism and community as a renewed struggle between the ancient philosophical problem of the one and the many. I will write more later about how I see the Trinity as a genuine response to this dilemna.

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