Comment by Steve Ames on March 31, 2008 @ 7:44 am Hi Chris, What immediately occurs to me about this topic is that the offline options all have tremendously more power as communication - because they engage more senses. Touch and feel, smell, etc along with the visual. Communicating between us humans is about telling stories. The richness of a multi sense experience in telling a story is without a doubt more powerful than the on line version. And the off line creates something else, as well. It’s harder, so it is done only when you really want to. It’s easy enough to share a photo album with me on line, but you would never send me a photograph in the mail, unless you knew me. ….
The set of assumptions in this comment thread is very interesting. Most comments assume the value of communication is to reach more people faster and more easily. And so, on line wins. What about reaching people more slowly and with more nuance and subtlety? I live in a small town in the north of Vermont. I’ve been here for 11 years, and I’m just starting to get the community concept here. It’s very subtle - and when you know everyone and everyone knows you, you begin to see the value of this kind of conservative social subtlety. Steve
Comment by chrisbrogan on March 31, 2008 @ 10:17 am @Steve - really good point. Especially in a place like Vermont (I’m from Maine), being “from away” takes a very long time to shake.
