Social Networks Galore!
I’ve been pondering the meaning of “fellowship” lately. There’s plenty to read in the Bible about fellowship. “Don’t abandon meeting together, as is the custom of some…” “Where two or more are gathered, I am there in their midst…” “A three-fold cord is not quickly broken…”
All of these passages refer to the need for human beings to live in fellowship with one another. And all infer that there is more to fellowship than just our bright and shining faces: One of the ways that we encounter Christ is through each other.
Jesus showed us that people learn better in community. His students, or disciples, had very few one on one lessons. Most of the teaching and learning that is recorded in Scripture shows us a community of followers and learners who became leaders and teachers.
Which brings me to my pondering point for the moment. What role do online social networks like Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter play in the community of faith?
I’ve kept this blog going (in various iterations) for a few years now. Very rarely do I see comments here. The running joke is that my readers are too busy to comment–they both have full time jobs. Ha ha.
But since the advent of microblogging, the conversation has grown by leaps and bounds. For those of you who need a refresher, microblogs are basically extremely short statements that fit into status messages on services like Facebook or Twitter.
Less is more. Seriously.
Rather than explaining the entire point (like I’m doing now), the context of social networking allows for a quick statement that begs questions, incites opinion-sharing, and actually engages an audience.
So why am I posting this here? Because some of you aren’t on Facebook. Others aren’t on Twitter. And a few of you aren’t using any social networks at all. Does that make you a bad person?
No way. But there are 124,000,000 people on Facebook. That’s a ton of folks. I have close to 700 people in my Facebook Network. It is kind of my home network. I’m on Twitter and I also have a Plurk account. Plaxo keeps me updated on e-mail and address changes, and I use Linked-In to keep my business contacts organized.
For a while, I left some of those networks untended. But now, by using Ping.fm, I can tie all of my networks together and update all of them at once.
With so many online networks and contacts, I can tell you that you’re missing out on some really interesting conversations. I learn more than I teach. I have as much fun as I do serious conversations.
But isn’t that part of the point?
- Social Networks abound!
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