Ben Willis recently wrote a short, but thought provoking, post about how the power of our connected world makes meeting, connecting with and reaching out to new people – complete strangers – very simple. He believes that while it certainly does not trump the quality of a face-to-face communication, the power of the ease and simplicity of it can certainly be powerful…
> Three times in the past two days, I’ve made new connections with people (One through Twitter, another through this blog, and another through e-mail) who I would consider highly respectable, and would have likely never had contact with otherwise. Are they high quality interactions? Not necessarily, but they were simple and as powerful as they needed to be.”
I think that there is something to this. What struck me is the fact that several of my online acquaintances have quickly grown into real friendships and professional relationships largely because of the ability to communicate quickly and regularly via the electronic medium.
I will also mention that Princess Bethany is a member of an online forum for women and that has resulted in several close friendships for the both of us. Members of this forum who are also local have become some of our closest friends as a couple.
As with any relationship, it is all about the time and attention you are willing to put into it. I would also say that the sheer amount of communication and interaction methods available to us all in this day and age makes it all the easier for those with a desire to foster and grow these otherwise casual interactions. When we approach a request to “friend me” as more than a desire to expand some popularity credits, but a real desire to interact, we open the potential to make new, honest, fruit bearing connections.