The reality of virtual connections

We tend to think all this Web stuff, especially Web 2.0 stuff, is new, but it's not. Here's an example: Social networking. Online social networks existed long before the Web.

In 1985 I moved to Minnesota, got a modem, and discovered a whole world of online friends. I thought of that today when I stumbled across a reference to Jason Scott's BBS (bulletin board system) documentary. In 1985 online social networks were built ad hoc, as little clusters of people with similar interests connected on local dialup bulletin boards. Words crawled slowly across the screen at 300 bits per second, but it was magic.

I fell into an interesting circle of friends in Minnesota, several connected with Twin Cities Public Television, others holding significant public positions, or students, or artists, or musicians. Several were authors. It was an interesting bunch. Periodically we would gather at a restaurant, bowling alley, or park for food and offline conversation. When I built my first house in White Bear Lake, nearly everyone at the housewarming party was an online buddy. They all wore nametags and some met "in person" for the first time.

Virtual connections are also real-world connections, and today the USC-Annenberg School Center for the Digital Future released a study confirming that.

Among other things, the study shows:

• Online communities lead to offline action.
• Participation in online communities leads to social activism.
• Online communities drive frequency.
• The whole phenomenon continues to grow.

My early interaction with the dialup BBS community in Minnesota shaped my whole outlook toward the online world. For several years I ran a BBS on my home computer. When I began working on newspaper online services in 1994, I naturally included interaction as a key component. To the Citadel BBS crowd of that era, I say: Thanks!