social networks

Can you really begin and sustain a meaningful relationship online?  I have, and I will admit I am surprised.  I live in AZ and my new friend lives in NC.  There is a commonality that brought us together-we are both massage therapists and educators.    We’ve never met and we’ve never even heard each other’s voice, but we have connected on Facebook, Twitter and another social networking site, and she took our course on How to Teach Online.

We share other similarities too.  We are both opinionated and we are both willing to share our opinions and discuss them. And we both have sort of an irreverent sense of humor.  I think the important attitude that we have is one of respect.  This is a first for me and now I’m thinking about ways to be able to connect in person.

How does this translate to online learning?  Directly, I think. It’s more than being digital pen pals, it is about getting to know each other by reading what is happening in each other’s lives on a daily basis, sharing new information and learning from each other.  We have more differences than similarities I’m sure, but this is a very cool phenomenon of social networking and creating a different kind of learning community.  There are others whom I have known for years, but I never had an opportunity to know them nearly as well in person as I do now, sharing and conversing with them online.   It’s very cool.  Have you had similar experiences?