« Social Media Monday Links: | Main | Odiogo: Turns Blogs into Podcasts »
August 28, 2007
Social Communications. A way of Life for me.
Social Communications is a way of life for me.
Ever since I was first licensed as a Ham Radio operator when I was 12 ½ years old, I discovered I enjoyed communicating with other ham radio operators from around the world. To whoever I spoke to, I was simply "Jeff from New York." The people I met on the radio were from all over the world, from various social economic backgrounds but the one thing we had in common was our passion to communicate. Many of my conversations were random and seldom did I ever meet the people whom I connected with. But there were times when I did meet a few of my ham radio friends. In fact some of the people who I met as a teenager have been friends of mine for life. But the point here is that I learned at a relatively early age it was possible to establish friendships with people without the need to meet the person face-to-face.
Fast forward to the first time in 1994 I sent out an email from: jeff@pulver.com. Over the years, I have met quite a number of people on email, many of whom I've never physically met, but whom I've been in and out of contact with over time. In fact, back in 1995 I launched the webzine NetWatch with a "friend" from Seattle, Washington whom I never met. A similar thing also happened also in late 1995 when I launched Free World Dialup (ver 1.0) with the help of Izak Jenie (Jakarta, Indonesia) and Brandon Lucas (Tokyo, Japan) and these are two people whom I haven't met, even to this day. So when someone tells me about friends made by connecting with someone on email, it is something I naturally appreciate hearing about.
Sometime during 2007, with the advent of my discovery/obsession with twitter and my recent adoption of Facebook as my iHome, the result of my actions have accelerated the way I have been able to create new relationships with people. These are people whom I've never met, yet over time people whom I feel truly connected with. And I would include in this list some of the people whose blogs I read as well as some of the people who have taken the time to leave a comment on my blog and whom I got to know afterwards.
The video application in Facebook was my own tipping point. After exchanging Facebook videos with someone, I start to get the feeling I am getting to know someone much better in a short period of time than some of the people I "know" for years but might not really "know" them. And maybe that is what this is all about.
The advent of Social Media provides us all with a great set of online tools we can use to build friendships and conduct business. In the end, it all depends upon how one leverages the available tools. Most of the people whom I've gotten to know this summer are on both twitter and Facebook, and have a blog. So for me, the social media "getting to know" someone process includes: following their twitter updates, reading and commenting on their blog , by noticing their Facebook status updates, by checking their online profile (LinkedIn is great for this) and eventually sharing text and video messages with them and maybe even a phone call. :)
Looking ahead at my 2007 Conference season, I fully expect that these and other social media tools will be used after each of the events by many of us as a way to maintain and grow the business contacts and social friendships established while attending these face-to-face events.
While 2007 will be known for a lot of things, for me, at least so far, it will be the year social media extended itself into my life and brought back memories of the time I spent as a kid using my Ham Radio to establish communication with the outside world. Turns out being a Ham Radio operator provides one with a unique perspective on communications that sticks with you for life.
---
Readers of my blog are invited to join me on both twitter and Facebook.
Tags: twitter, Facebook, Social Media, Ham Radio, Jeff Pulver
Share this post:
Digg |
del.icio.us |
Reddit |
Newsvine |
Google Bookmark |
Yahoo MyWeb |
StumbleUpon
Posted by jeff on August 28, 2007 09:28 AM | Permalink
Additional resources: Internet TV Online Guide @ Network2.tv | Voice on the Net Conference | Video on the Net Conference
Comments
Hello, Mr. Pulver!
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this one...
I've been writing on a similar topic, and glad I found yours here.
Greetings from Indonesia :)
Posted by: Marisa Duma at September 12, 2007 07:32 AM
I've found LinkedIn and Facebook to be quite complimentary – and the benefits of using both with business in mind are more than the sum of the parts.
More and more LI users are dabbling with FB to see what the excitement is all about and/or like me, to see what our kids are up to.
I'm not talking about the technical crowd, but the rest of us who find LI useful for business or career development but don't think much about the evolution of the web and all the exciting developments that are empowering all of us in unimaginable ways.
LinkedIn users are joining business-oriented groups on Facebook . . . where they get to know some of the other members and where they meet some of the same folks they are meeting on LinkedIn. LI "Contacts" become FB "Friends" . . . and vice versa.
Perhaps they'll go back to LI to read a profile, check out a resume, see who people are connected to, or to communicate directly with others who are not yet their FB Friends.
Before long, they'll figure out how to easily export their LinkedIn contacts to Facebook . . . and, in some awkward, inelegant way the two platforms will begin to merge. Soon the programmers will have neat applications that automatically sync and link the two . . . and then tie in other social networks into one giant web of relationships.
What is the world coming to? We won't have to wait long to see.
Posted by: Jeffrey Nichols at August 29, 2007 11:40 AM
Jeff, this is lovely and right up my alley. I feel very similarly this summer (well, winter in New Zealand). I keep telling people that while Social Communication is a great benefit for Corporate Communication, everyone doing it will benefit from it on a very personal level. Thanks for your continuing reflections on this subject.
Posted by: Iris Lamprecht at August 28, 2007 05:02 PM
Although historically I haven't jumped in to become an active part of the conversation, I've really enjoyed watching the videos you post on Facebook. You are entirely correct. I feel very much like I know you even though we have never met.
Great post! Very nostalgic. I love your work...
Posted by: Israel Hyman at August 28, 2007 03:47 PM
I like how you link your current enthusiasm for socnets to your youthful bliss as a ham operator. I trust passion with deep roots, in my life and in the lives of others. My love of podcasting and blogging dates back to the joy I experienced writing, publishing (on a Hectograph purple-gel contraption), and delivering on my bicycle The Claypit Flyer, a neighborhood newspaper. I was 9 years old. If only the Internet had been invented in 1958! But there's still time for these old delights to find new ways of keeping life new. Keep at it, Jeff from New York!
Posted by: Len Edgerly at August 28, 2007 02:16 PM
Jeff,
every now and then you come up with some very good terms. Things like MICE, Purple Minutes and now social communications. Maybe I am out of it, but I have never heard of the term "social communications." Yes, I am on Twitter, Facebook, I blog, etc., but I never thought of it as categorized as social communications.
Great stuff
AW
Posted by: Alan Weinkrantz at August 28, 2007 11:47 AM
A day without a Jeff Pulver poke--or more importantly a Jeff Pulver video poke--is like a day without sunshine!
:o)
Posted by: Ann at August 28, 2007 11:23 AM
Thanks for the post, reminded me of how many people I seem to have met over the years via some other form of communication other than face to face.
Ham radio is certainly one of those means, and I am just getting started.
73, KI4WLR
http://www.ki4wlr.com
Posted by: KI4WLR at August 28, 2007 11:12 AM