Are you who you know? (editorial)

A social revolution. An open book. Or just a fad?

Orkut. RYZE. LinkedIn. MySpace. Facebook. MeetUp. Friendster. Spoke. Hipster. Tribe. Whichever networking site you choose, the reasons remain the same.

Old Friends. New Friends. Loneliness. Nostalgia. Romance. Time Pass. Snooping. Business Networks. Activity Partners. Curiosity.

Undoubtedly Google has emblazoned Orkut as preferred social networking site at least with India and NRIs. They have been around since 2004. So, the Google affliation definitely helped. It captures and consumes you. It's an addiction, definitely. Many companies block social networking sites. Not surprising considering the kind of activity that shows up on an active Orkut profile doesn’t bode well for focused, quality work. HR experts say it's equal to spending five out of eight hours in conversation with friends. Productivity has to be protected despite the fact that overtime without pay is a regular feature (that’s another story). In fact, working hours ensure that these sites become a coffee shop to catch up with life. A perfect representation that human beings are chaos, are social and are vulnerable. But is this interaction the real thing?

In a world where everyone can reach out to almost anyone, neighbors are strangers. The mohallah concept is almost dead. And crime rates are reflective in areas where the social fabric is beginning to show wear and tear. I have lived in small towns, metros and isolated places. But my favorites have always been where the milkman, raddi wallah and kirana store wallah smile and remember me. Or even the CCD/ Barista/ Mocha guy acknowledges that he seen me before with a nod of his head. Rare, I know. But possible. That’s a lot of cups of coffee we are talking about. But, we all need our waiters at our favorite restaurants to acknowledge that we exist, that the absence of our presence is felt. That, we do make a difference.

My friends play out the drama of despair that an old friend has not dropped by your page or someone's scrap exposed the dishonesty that human interactions often display. We keep track of exes, friend's girlfriends… boyfriends…jobs… exes…teachers, jerks, bullies, bosses too. But if you can keep track of people, downside is that they can too. I am guilty of the same. The role of the village gossip woman has been taken over by technology. The fascination that people feel for people's lives takes on an almost voyeuristic quality. And there is lot one can learn even by reading a stranger's interactions online.

Whatever be our intentions, a new phenomenon like social networking is both exciting and unpredictable. But it does display in a sense, signs of isolation that society is wrapped itself in today. But finding like minded people is tough. People need to reach out and need witnesses to their lives; it’s the basic tenet of human interaction.