Nothing beats face to face...

Cute pic right? Well, I'm using it to represent my sentiment concerning face to face interaction...it's just too precious and so necessary for developing into a normal, healthy human being. Hands down, face to face is still the best way to communicate with new friends, old friends, family, colleagues... people in general. Yes, sometimes it can be a bit awkward, especially when you are clumsy like me and tend so how manage to spill food on yourself every time your in public. At other times, it can be frustrating, especially when you just can't spit out the right words at the right time to express the exact thought you have in your head. However, the joy of making a friend, meeting up with someone for the first time or in a long team and just really connecting just can't be beat. Even with all the technology in the world and all the continuous buzz around social media, nothing can replace the face to face.

No social media is not a fad. (Watch the video if you're still not convinced.) And I am not a social media hater. However, it will never replace the joy, or the necessity of meeting people face to face.



Yes, this video is totally crazy, a little bit scary and kinda makes me want to hide out for a while and unplug myself from all the chaos. Even for me, a Gen X/Yer, (I'm not sure really where I fit in..the end of Gen X or the beginning of Gen. Y), who is expected to be a tech savvy, up to date, early adopter of all this stuff, it's all just a bit, a huge bit, overwhelming. I can't imagine what it's like for the older...well you know... the more mature generation of folks like my mom, who still has difficulty figuring out how to get all her mother's day photos off her digital camera. It's no wonder since for most, including myself, by the time we figure out how to use the technology of today, it's obsolete. This whole change in the world of media, communication, technology is happening way too fast at an impossible rate to follow.

So what can we do? We can either hide from it all and hope it goes away, taking the ostrich mentality. (But let's face it. It's not going away anytime soon.) Or we can embrace it to enhance our face to face interactions and our care for others in our "network". Social networking is just a tool to enhance our real personal relationships, rather than a time-sucking virtual leech that replaces our real life relationships and interactions. You decide.

P.S. In my real life network, I made two new friends, who are not yet my Facebook friends. :) This may not sound so significant, but think about it. Unless you are in school, starting a new job, moving to a new city, when was the last time you made a friend? That's supposed to be the refreshing part.

Phenomenon:groundswell

After hunting local bookstores on and off for a couple weeks, I finally got my hands on a copy of this bright green book. Although, I know I'm a couple years late in the game, it was published 2 years ago, I thought it might be nice to reflect on some of my considerations concerning the social phenomenon, known as the groundswell, that is affecting pretty much the core of how we communicate, connect with others, share information, and define our relationships.
I've read half of it so far and it has been quite intriguing, of course not in the same way as the chapter 9 of Life-Study of Exodus, (you really can't beat Zipporah calling Moses a "bloody husband". You pretty much can't find anything out there that comes close), but none the less pretty compelling.

So what exactly is the groundswell?
It's a social trend in which people use technologies to get the things they need from each other, rather than from traditional institution like corporations.

So why is it relevant? Well for you, for me, and for most of the population out there, it is affecting the way we connect with people, what we do online, how we find information and how we share information with those we care about, (or those we don't even know). Just think Facebook... how many pieces of useless information can you gather from your "friends" at any particular moment you sign in, and yet despite not sharing information of great intrinsic value...on any given day, somehow I find myself spending at least sometime everyday to check on what's going on in my "network" because I value the relationships.


Isn't it ironic that at the end of the day, after all is said and done, it is the innate human need to connect with others (God put that in us) and to share and speak our thoughts, considerations and findings (also God created) that is the driving factor in the groundswell. So does that mean God indirectly created the groundswell? Think about it...

Anyway, for me, it's especially relevant as I continue to consider how to pick up technology by the tail (referenced from chapter 8 of LS Exodus) in the midst of this social phenomenon and use it for the advance of God's purpose. How can we tap into the groundswell, listen to it, talk to it, energize it and embrace it for the spread of the Word and the ministry? Also, I just find this stuff kind of fascinating because I am just a big nerd who loves reading about what exactly makes people tick. It's the psychology and business major in me that screams "yay!", "wow!", "fascinating!" as I am reading through the case studies and market research that are presented in this book.

However, as I'm reading more and more, I can't help but think how much the principles presented in this book align with so many principles revealed in the Bible concerning how to build up the Body of Christ. It is through the operation of each one part that the Body builds itself up in love (Eph. 4:15-16). It is through the functioning of many members that the Body can move and act according to God's desire. It is the fellowship (connections) and flow (of information) through the speaking that keeps the Body supplied, healthy and active.

It pretty amazing in the age of the groundswell to see the impact individual human beings cooperating together can have on large corporations. How much more can we who share the same divine life as our Father and with one another cooperate with the Lord and coordinate with one another as the Body of Christ to defeat the enemy?