There are two things I remind myself of daily in regards to social media. The first is that this technology exists to create true community. It’s not a game, or a toy, or a matter to be taken lightly. When you begin interacting online, you are dipping your foot into a very special place, where true friendships can grow and impressions can be made that affect future employment or reputation with potential customers. The Internet isn’t a disposable spoon to be used when convenient and thrown away without regard. Real relationships are formed, and actual people exist behind the lovely twitter avatars we see each day. Real people. With feelings and dreams and issues and needs.
But I also remind myself daily that these tools are here to push us deeper. Community can thrive online in ways like never before. But it still has limits to its reach, and we need to push beyond them. FaceTime offers face-to-face conversation to millions of people who have never seen each other’s face before - for better or for worse, of course - but it still cannot hold a candle to good conversation over a cup of coffee. I’m ashamed to admit that my friend Dave Caolo lives only two hours away from me, but we haven’t yet met in person. But we need to. Because relationships are designed to grow, and there’s a limit to how deeply you can know someone you’ve never shaken hands with, or watched laugh, or bought a beer.
I’ve been thinking about this a lot recently. I’ve met some great guys online — dudes like Ben Brooks, Ian Hines, Joshua Schnell, Dave Caolo and more. We chat about a lot more than just Apple or tech — we talk about our families, our careers, our goals and more. It really is strange to think about the fact these relationships exist just because of the Internet.
Be sure to check out episode 13 of the Enough podcast, in which Patrick and Myke talk about this very thing.