Soulful Networking
(af) You might switch between different social networks regularly to tap into the web’s cutting edge, or you may just try and keep up with your friend’s trends. Either way, social networking and blogging are big business, recently Wired magazine boldly urged people to abandon their “so 2004″ blogs in light of the new horizons which Twitter, Facebook and Flickr offer. Despite this rather gloomy outlook on blogs, it seems like blogging will adapt like any other good Web 2.0 technology, to meet the shifting patterns of ever growing online communities.
Now the inevitable consequence of being young and human is that I exist within these networks, communicating with my friends and revelling in the savvy nature of it all. Though what part does spirituality play in this process? Often faith is a contentious subject to raise in real life, so how do we express ourselves online whilst contributing to ‘Soulful Networks’? Just to clarify I don’t mean networks set up praising James Brown (R.I.P.), I mean one’s which feature the views of religious communities.
A simple web search will direct you towards different unofficial Baha’i social initiatives such as ‘Bahai Hub‘ or ‘Our Bahai Tube‘, and I guess questions arise whether to use the mainstream stuff or switch to these outlets, or maybe a balance of both? It seems that regardless of your personal approach, religion is a popular topic of discussion online within niche sites but also on popular services as well. United States presidential candidate Barack Obama has used Facebook, as well as the Christian Social network ‘Faith Base‘ to connect with young voters, so some politicians are crossing the board on this one.
One thing that strikes me is, that whether or not the usage of new online media appears to be wonderful or challenging to users, people seem to search for a sense of community that they are missing in their daily lives. The numerous blogs and forums on the Internet addressing worldwide social concerns, is truely testament to this e.g. the impact of ‘Blog Action Day’.
If a virtual community can help assist different audiences discuss their views to gain understanding or to reach a common goal, I guess the shape and form of the network is not that vital. One thing that the web has shown so far is that one voice can potentially reach millions, and due to the nature of these networks the millions can engage in dialogue right back to that one person (disregarding the spam that is).
So I’ll look forward to your views in the comment section of this post, and he next time I update my online status I hope I can share with you a message that uplifts the soul, rather then what I had for lunch…which was pasta by the way!
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October 29th, 2008 at 3:39 pm
The post raises questions about how to contribute to raising a ‘Soulful Network’ but doesn’t give any suggestions or any current examples. One website that comes to mind is http://www.bahaiperspectives.com/. Even though its just a blog, the site’s content gives a ‘real’ view of applying the Bahai principles in our present day to day life.
I differ on one point that you mention in the post I guess the shape and form of the network is not that vital.
Actually the form of the network is very vital and is the key to getting the message across. For example, spreading information is much much easier by just posting an update on your facebook profile or on twitter as opposed to sending out a mass email to a subscription list. The more important point is how you use these networks.
Finally, I wanted to mention two websites that are worth checking out.
http://www.bahaiwebdev.net
http://www.bahaitools.com
November 2nd, 2008 at 11:18 am
Dear Unknown visitor,
Thanks for the informative reply, I guess the post wasn’t that thought out, but was really aimed at opening up the discussion as we are all learning on how to use these networks effectively.
November 19th, 2008 at 2:21 am
Hi af, this is a good post to discuss on as you brought up several points on the current trend of being connected virtually through all these different kinds of networks. What strike me is the fact that you mentioned
“that whether or not the usage of new online media appears to be wonderful or challenging to users, people seem to search for a sense of community that they are missing in their daily lives.”
I think this is an issue that needs to be addressed and I don’t think that getting ourselves into these virtual networking sites is the way to help us find a sense of community. The sense of being part of a community should be for real, with our neighbors, friends, co-workers or even with our own Baha’i community. The question we should ask ourselves is instead of putting an effort to be online almost 24/7, do we also make an effort to go out there and talk to people, attend gatherings or community activities. The challenge for us is to go against this wave of living a life online, not entirely, but a to strike a balance, to be moderate and not forget that there is a real life community around you as well and if only everyone takes time to keep in touch and meet every so often to get to know one another better.
The other point that you brought up was the fact that
“One thing that the web has shown so far is that one voice can potentially reach millions, and due to the nature of these networks the millions can engage in dialogue right back to that one person”
These tools are so useful because the message that you have does not only reach the people around you but also the whole world. Which is a good thing. A good way of teaching as well.