20/09: How the Internet keeps us from Bowling Alone
I was helping my dear friend Steve with his career transition from the Big Apple to lovely Ann Arbor Michigan. Steve was asking if I knew the area and could recommend some good Kosher steak houses. Having spent a few years teaching at the University of Michigan, I knew the area well. In fact, through a weird strange of events, the reason that The Archer Group is headquartered in Delaware is due in large part to the fact that the University of Delaware and the University of Michigan have identical football helmets!
The phrase ‘Bowling Alone’ refers to the comprehensive book of the same title by Robert Putnam. His book does an in-depth look at how the rise of television led to the decline in participation in community activities, including PTA, church, and bowling. He does a great job defending his argument and discussing the impact on society.
Dr. Putnam wrote this book before the rise in online social networking, where people can connect based upon interests, rather than simply geography. This leads to strong associations of people who have a passion for a single subject and connect along those lines. Anyone who has been to a neighborhood function and had to listen to someone drone on about his love of depression era glass knows what I mean about single subject passion. While I wont argue with Dr. Putnam’s conclusions regarding the impact on geographic based functions, such as local government, I do think that the Internet offers the ability to meet people that would have been previously unknown. The success of eHarmony.com is a perfect example of the Internet’s impact on Social Networking.
Back to Steve and his trip to Ann Arbor. I pointed Steve to Yahoo’s trip site, Travel.Yahoo.com/Trip, where he set up a details on his trip to Ann Arbor. His trip would be shared with other Yahoo visitors who could add comments on where to go and what to see while in Ann Arbor. He could trade messages with previous visitors or locals to learn more. So while Steve might not be bowling with these people any time soon, he has certainly gained some friends. And who knows, maybe there will be some bowling!
Best of luck to Steve!
The phrase ‘Bowling Alone’ refers to the comprehensive book of the same title by Robert Putnam. His book does an in-depth look at how the rise of television led to the decline in participation in community activities, including PTA, church, and bowling. He does a great job defending his argument and discussing the impact on society.
Back to Steve and his trip to Ann Arbor. I pointed Steve to Yahoo’s trip site, Travel.Yahoo.com/Trip, where he set up a details on his trip to Ann Arbor. His trip would be shared with other Yahoo visitors who could add comments on where to go and what to see while in Ann Arbor. He could trade messages with previous visitors or locals to learn more. So while Steve might not be bowling with these people any time soon, he has certainly gained some friends. And who knows, maybe there will be some bowling!
Best of luck to Steve!
