Friday, February 15, 2008


The question for week 2 was:
"Surfing the net. Watching TV. Joining a virtual game.
Reading a book.
Where do you find community?"




Tell us. We want to know!
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4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Incredible. The photo shows young people in community [sitting next to one another] but interfacing with technology, not each other. So, is community now just being in the same room, otherwise engaged?

February 9, 2008 at 2:25 PM
Anonymous said...

Finding community...
I feel closer to people I meet online than I do with people in my neighborhood or at work. I guess it's because we have something in common. If I talk about politics with someone online, everything is cool. If I talk about politics at work, some people decide I'm their new best enemy.

February 13, 2008 at 4:47 PM
bear said...

Re: the comment by anonymous -
people i meet from other parts of the world have a hard time figuring us out here in the U.S. For many of them, the most common topics of conversation - around the dinner table, over coffee or a glass of wine - are politics, religion and sex - things that are pretty central to most of our lives. Here, they are almost taboo in casual conversation for exactly the reason you mention.

It's OK here to talk about sexual exploits, but not intimacy; to identify our denomination, but not our beliefs, faith and passion; and by all means, keep our politics under wrap because they have become polarizing battle lines, not grounds for respectful and reasoned debate - increasingly so during the past 8 years.

As much as anything I long for in our culture, it is to re-discover the art of conversation, of dialogue, listening and appreciative inquiry.

Online spaces do help provide a place for dialogue - I hope we can try it face-to-face as well.

bc

February 13, 2008 at 8:37 PM
Anonymous said...

A lot of what I've seen talked about with this whole "Big Read" is total BS.

Technology is not evil, the picture here is designed with a provocative statement trying to force people to believe that things were better in a simpler time, and somehow books and social interaction are inextricably linked.

Reading a book often restricts your interaction with someone else. If you spend your time buried in a book, all you do is absorb the message of the writer, without any discourse or sharing of ideas. You may have a conversation with someone else who has read the book, but often the ideas are not your own.

People can talk just as well about issues without books. How often do you get meaningful [political news from a book. News media might pretend to offer an unbiased view, but without opposing viewpoints, the message amounts to little more than propaganda. The Internet on the otherhand, offers as many different viewpoints as there are people, and anyone can post something somewhere about their thoughts of a topic.

Printed media has a purpose, but it should no longer be shoehorned into a role it is not suited for. The Internet offers more interactivity, and well as the knowledge which can be taken back into the real world and used there.

Bah, no time to finish the post, I'll be back later.

February 20, 2008 at 9:34 AM

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