tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4455700514377143758.post4244830000108989737..comments2024-03-28T07:00:06.844+00:00Comments on Now Appearing: How can you know someone you've never met?Brian Clegghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12723555872580740773noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4455700514377143758.post-90518253805027472822009-03-24T20:58:00.000+00:002009-03-24T20:58:00.000+00:00Brian, I love the idea of having a word to describ...Brian, I love the idea of having a word to describe an internet acquaintance. Nice to knowe you.<BR/><BR/>Maxine, I'm aware of the conference of which you speak. I was supposed to attend but I got commandeered by the BBC to do some work at the last minute. Hopefully catch you next time!Angela Sainihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15601707867262316752noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4455700514377143758.post-8525608535246193692009-03-24T14:15:00.000+00:002009-03-24T14:15:00.000+00:00Anonymous - nice one!Henry - you're right, but I t...Anonymous - nice one!<BR/><BR/>Henry - you're right, but I think it feels a lot more immediate because of the directness of e-contact.<BR/><BR/>Sara - possibly, although even on (say) Facebook, almost everyone I'm virtual friends with I have something in common, whether it's writing, going to the same school or living in the same village... and we've all got internet access, and mostly are from Western countries. So I'm not convinced it's really a random connection.Brian Clegghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12723555872580740773noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4455700514377143758.post-88585995048345591252009-03-24T13:44:00.000+00:002009-03-24T13:44:00.000+00:00Brian, I'm not sure people necessary have anything...Brian, I'm not sure people necessary have anything in common (except obviously going online to "meet" other people in the first place). There are all sorts of social networking sites that don't seem to have any particular theme other than being social networking sites. Sort of the virtual equivalents of pubs, only without the alcohol and near-death experiences involving darts.Crowehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11388457994412699926noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4455700514377143758.post-76977623678477901732009-03-24T11:51:00.000+00:002009-03-24T11:51:00.000+00:00It's an interesting post, Brian, picking up on the...It's an interesting post, Brian, picking up on the zeitgeist of the cusp of something or other, in the town hall if wet, restrictions may apply. <BR/><BR/>Like Maxine, I have gotten to know lots of people really well through the blogosphere, and I always enjoy meeting them in person (including your good self!)<BR/><BR/> Sometimes the iRelationship seems so close that on one occasion I met a fellow blogger and we were both convinced that we'd met before, except that when we thought about it - hard - we discovered we hadn't.<BR/><BR/>Not sure it's an entirely new phenomenon, though - more the rediscovery of the ancient art of correspondence, when people wrote letters often, physical travel was difficult and very expensive, and the postal service delievered many times a day. I am sure that - say - Darwin, or Jane Austen, or H. P. Lovecraft (the last a formidable correspondent) 'knew' many more people remotely than they did 'in person'.cromercroxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09963551114404818534noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4455700514377143758.post-55135387995865435972009-03-24T11:46:00.000+00:002009-03-24T11:46:00.000+00:00CHICKEN SEEKS EGG: Lonely emu-breeder, male, nonsm...CHICKEN SEEKS EGG: Lonely emu-breeder, male, nonsmoker, 78 mi. from Alice Springs, seeks other emu-breeders for companionship, swapping stories, eggs, who knows, maybe more? Please send picture of emu.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4455700514377143758.post-67165736145230246122009-03-24T11:21:00.000+00:002009-03-24T11:21:00.000+00:00Sorry, I meant Sara - that's the trouble of using ...Sorry, I meant Sara - that's the trouble of using memory on a knowe!Brian Clegghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12723555872580740773noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4455700514377143758.post-81529810697659869182009-03-24T11:20:00.000+00:002009-03-24T11:20:00.000+00:00Sarah - I guess there will usually be something in...Sarah - I guess there will usually be something in common, or why would you have the chance encounter. (So I know you're called Sarah, for instance, thanks to a shared interest in writing, though you're definitely in the knowe class.)<BR/><BR/>I'm not attacking the concept - indeed it's a great way to hook up with other emu breeders, or in my case writers and scientists. It's just that until recently that would have taken place at the local emu breeders club, so you would meet conventionally, rather than knoweing them despite never having met.Brian Clegghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12723555872580740773noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4455700514377143758.post-3785905755018495862009-03-24T10:06:00.000+00:002009-03-24T10:06:00.000+00:00To complicate it even further, there's the matter ...To complicate it even further, there's the matter of how you "know" them online. If you "meet" someone through a shared interest or perhaps work, there's some sort of connection there that isn't only about a chance encounter online. How else are people with obscure hobbies such as decorating snail shells or emu breeding supposed to hook up with likeminded others?Crowehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11388457994412699926noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4455700514377143758.post-46988979951212970202009-03-24T08:49:00.000+00:002009-03-24T08:49:00.000+00:00By the way, I just remembered - I did hope to actu...By the way, I just remembered - I did hope to actually meet Angela the other week, as I attended a conference and apprarently she had also said she might attend (so someone there told me). I did not manage to spot her, though. I do like her contributions to Nature Network.Maxine Clarkehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06628509319992204770noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4455700514377143758.post-43203233538539769892009-03-24T08:47:00.000+00:002009-03-24T08:47:00.000+00:00It is odd, this new etiquette of "knowing" people ...It is odd, this new etiquette of "knowing" people online - especially if you then actually meet them. In the past 3 years (excluding colleagues and family) I have met more people in real life whom I first encountered blogging than in any other way. Is that strange? Sad? Crazy? I don't know, but I am enjoying it! It is perhaps a bit like an arranged marriage, in the sense that you both have a thorough "list of common interests and attitudes" check before actually meeting?Maxine Clarkehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06628509319992204770noreply@blogger.com