Real Virtual Connections
Every now and then I encounter someone who (still) thinks that on-line contacts are somehow less real, less valuable than non-line ones. Last Wednesday saw proof again that there is nothing virtual about the on-line networks we knit.
Stockholm's city hall as we saw it after our visit to Umea
Stephanie Hendrick, from the HumLab at Umea University visited us in Enschede, to do work with Lilia Efimova and Anjo Anjewierden. We had a group dinner at a local Chinese restaurant and it was fun to meet her in our own environment, having visited her and stayed at her place last November when she was our local Blogwalk host.
City hall in our home town Enschede that was modelled after Stockholm's
(Bicycle) Mark from Amsterdam was also present, whom I had not met before other than through the RSS reader. He turned out to be very pleasant company, and I hope his first trip into the deep Dutch province didn't disappoint him :) Other people present were Carla Verwijs, Robert Slagter, Elmine Wijnia, and Henk de Poot, next to those I already mentioned.
(The pictures are of Stockholm's and Enschede's city hall respectively: it's not just blogs that can connect people and places, but architecture as well)
PermalinkThanks Ton! I had a wonderful time in Enschede. You are all so welcoming :-) and I completely agree that online contacts are not an inferior/less real form of contact. My circle of friends has changed drastically in the last 2 years and I can now say that I have met the majority of my close friends in a virtual environment before meeting them in a physical one. While this 'not less real' aspect does not surprise me, the strength of these connection still does. I have met both my best friend and my new 'special' friend through different blogging connections.
Posted by: Stephanie at March 28, 2005 6:04 PMThanks Ton! I had a wonderful time in Enschede. You are all so welcoming :-) and I completely agree that online contacts are not an inferior/less real form of contact. My circle of friends has changed drastically in the last 2 years and I can now say that I have met the majority of my close friends in a virtual environment before meeting them in a physical one. While this 'not less real' aspect does not surprise me, the strength of these connection still does. I have met both my best friend and my new 'special' friend through different blogging connections.
Posted by: stephanie at March 28, 2005 6:05 PMHey Ton.. i just realized i didnt comment on this, though i read it a while ago. It was a pleasure meeting you as well, and next time youre in Amsterdam, do drop me a line. Or next time Im lost and end up in the far-east... Ill contact you.
Posted by: bicyclemark at March 29, 2005 1:11 AM
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