Over the years, I have participated in many collective working and living projects.  Several years ago, I was recruited by a group called the Matchbook Learning Project. We sponsored classes for adults in the anarchist community.  The vision was a way to keep people in community in times of life that it is harder to stay in touch, when we are becoming more focused on family and household and a gentle and general way to stay political.  This was a success, but many of the organizers fell prey to the issue at hand, we needed to be more focused on our families and homes and did not have the energy to sustain the project in the way that we set it up.

This blog is how I decided to replace that energy in my life. I have long wanted to write more and get back to my zine. I have always considered blogging a great method (if done well)–certainly to keep up a regular writing practice and keep the volume that I am writing high.  On the other hand, there is a lot that is off-putting to me about my political involvement in the world being rooted in words and the internet versus daily real-world interactions.

So, in turn, I have been thinking quite a bit about virtual space and the ways that I do and do not want to participate in it. I think that my whole concept of geography has been shifting. Overall, more and more of our cultures interactions are taking place virtually. This may be more or less true for certain subcultures, but as a whole…this is absolutely the case.  So although, it is not physical; this space does have geographic value.  In part, because the web adds so much to the equation of how things happen over space, which I consider to be a question of utmost importance.

What does this mean for the future of the internet? For the future of our social lives? For the physical space that we move through when we leave our computers? For our bodies and emotions?

 I often think about all of the things in my life that I wouldn’t have (or would be more difficult) without the internet, but I often forget to ask, what am I missing in my life because of the internet?  I am shocked to think of how long it has been since I have been to a library, for example.  I now drive more, work from home and use the internet more than I ever have and I randomly run into people much less than I ever have.  I also meet fewer people, and many of the contacts that I do have have moved away over the years.

I do not consider virtual interactions qualitatively equal to actual ones.  I do know people that feel more comfortable dealing with other people online and their complete social networks are built and maintained that way.  I think that it is aesthetically, I just can’t give that my rubber stamp…it seems wrong.  Yah, you pegged me….I was born before 1980, lol.

I often hear people making judgements about the internet, like “I think that geocaching is a great use of the internet,” or “I’ve decided that blogging is a complete waste of time.”  But, isn’t that like saying that your underwear is better than anothers or that sports are something that no kid should do.  Kinda arbitrary…

There seem to be two distinct areas of social networking–building and maintaining. To my parents, building a social network on the internet is off-putting. They don’t like the idea of internet dating, for example. This is the primary way that many couples that I know have met each other!

Many people that I know find maintaining social networks through the internet to be off-putting. It is one thing to have your social network facilitated by the internet, for example getting notices about upcoming shows or make plans by email. It is another to use the internet for all of ones social interaction. These are extremes, but I do know someone whose primary social network is composed of people that he has never actually met. Of course, there is also the phenomenon of people spending most of their time (and even having actual financial transactions) through virtual communities and games.

 I feel lucky that my social network is actually fairly wide. I do spend a great deal of my time on-line supporting this network. I do try to see the people that I know regularly, but I have come to realize over the last few years, that it would actually be impossible to see everyone that I want to see regularly without compromising some of the intimacy and regularity of my other relationships.  With some awareness that it was happening, I started following a rule around my friends; the closer they live, the more I see them.  This actually has been working for me very well.

I have always taken “non-intentional” community very seriously, even while I have been working on “intentional” communities and cooperatives.  I have always considered being place-based to be the primary consideration for happiness and sustainability.  The thing about the internet, though is that you can “see” folks that aren’t neighbors more regularly and the shape of space is morphed and becomes more a question of presence.