March 2009 - Internet Social Networking Sites

Building community through technology

Surfing the Jewish Internet
with Robert G. Evans

For millennia, a big part of being Jewish has meant being part of a close Jewish community. Jewish communities were often somewhat insular, and had their own kosher stores, schools, Bet Midrashes and cemeteries. In many cases, Jews were isolated from the larger community where they lived, often, because that was what the majority dictated. Many have speculated, that this separation from the mainstream and living as part of a close knit community, significantly contributed to preserving a distinct Jewish identity, for so many centuries in exile.

I have long believed that while technology can have a destructive influence on our lives, technology (particularly Internet technology) can also have a very positive impact, if it is used wisely. Internet social networking technology can, I believe, be used as a tool to strengthen our Jewish community.

In the past, geographic isolation meant that Jews saw and spoke with the same people every day, many of them relatives, in the small shtetl or Jewish enclave where they lived. Often our ancestors lived where they were born or lived not far from their birthplace. A journey of a few miles could be a significant undertaking. We now live in a very different world. Few of us live where we were born and many of us have had the opportunity to travel millions of miles during our lifetimes. This has made it more difficult to maintain a sense of cohesive community. Even so, I feel that the need for community, and in our case a Jewish community, remains a very potent requirement in our lives.

Three of the biggest recent changes in the online world have been the explosive growth of Internet video, of VOIP and of social networking sites. I have already written about Internet video. VOIP is Voice Over Internet Protocol, which permits users to make the equivalent of free telephone calls (optionally with video) over the Internet. Internet social networking can create an online community and can strengthen pre-existing social bonds, through the web access of an online relational database . It is easiest to understand Internet social networking by jumping on to one of these sites and clicking around, but I will try to offer a succinct description.

One signs up to join a social networking website via ones web browser and creates a profile with some information about oneself. One can upload images and videos to ones page on the site, post messages and share links to online items of interest. One can invite other users of the site to be their "friends" and accept invitations "to be friends" from other users. The information one posts is only viewable by one's network of friends. However, I only post information that I would not object to anyone seeing, e. g. potential employers, the press, law enforcement organizations, kids, ex-wives, identity thieves, etc..

If you are interested in a better description of social networking, you might want to take a look at some of the YouTube videos or Wikipedia .

It seems to me, that Internet social networking has an enormous potential for social good, as well as a few risks. There is an intrinsic capability to build new communities and strengthen existing social connections. For people who may be geographically separated or not able to get out and about as often as they would like, it can allow for more frequent casual social interaction. It can facilitate contact and interaction between friends and family, who may live far away from one another.

Internet social networking is not a replacement for more intimate forms of human contact, like sharing a meal or having a conversation over triple espresso depth charges (or a fine single malt), or, for that matter, a well written and thoughtful email. It is more akin to the casual conversations we might have with people at the Post Office or at Corners or from reading the community bulletin board at the store. Some commentators have worried that online networking will decrease the desire for face to face contact. I feel that this is unlikely, and that a greater risk is of being overwhelmed by trivial (in the mind of the reader, not the writer) chatter. This can be mitigated to a large degree by tuning ones settings.

There are three dominant online social networks in the US. They are Facebook.com, MySpace.com and LinkedIn.com. Facebook was originally developed by a student at Harvard and targeted Ivy League college undergraduates. MySpace was started by employees of eUniverse.com (an Internet marketing company), and was purchased by the Rupert Murdoch organization. Linkedin.com was founded by an early employee of PayPal.com, primarily for business and professional users. All three companies raise most of their revenue through advertising, but are trying to develop other revenue streams. According to Alexa, MySpace is the #9 site in the world in terms of traffic and Facebook is #5. Facebook has the most users (~175 million)

I have been using all 3 sites for almost 2 years. I signed up primarily because my friends' teenagers wanted to have more "friends" than their buddies, and I was curious about this online cultural phenomenon.

Recently there has been a startling increase in the use of Facebook by people over 30 years of age, like me. Over the last year or so, new demographic distinctions have started to be recognized between Facebook and MySpace users. When I started using it, Facebook was primarily for college students and MySpace was targeted more toward high school and middle school students. Now, most Facebook users tend to be better educated, more affluent adults, while MySpace is preferred by lower income, less educated users. There are a few exceptions, MySpace seems to be favored by educated techno-geeks and well heeled musicians.

You might want to check out Facebook. It can be fun, simple and not very time consuming. Many people find it a good way to know what their far flung kids and grandkids are up to. (Insert Jewish mother joke of your choice here.) It can be a great method for connecting with old friends and people who you do not see all that often. There is a slight risk that checking Facebook can become a compulsive activity. Although I feel that there is less danger of this, than with video games or 2nd life. It is always wise to be judicious about how much information one posts online.

In my opinion (which is not necessarily the opinion of the MCJC or its directors), Facebook is the best social networking site for creating a "group" for members of a community like the MCJC; so, I have. It is a closed group, so you can join only with the permission of an Admin (Susan Hofberg or Bob Evans), and my intention is to limit it to members of the MCJC community. It will be moderated (again by Bob and Susan), so posts that are deemed inappropriate will be deleted.

Posts could include photos, videos, links or online dialogs. I hope that most of the posts are of Jewish or local interest. We all have our passionate interests, but I promise to resist the urge to post cute cat pictures and warnings about resource shortages, soil erosion and tasteless architecture to the MCJC group. (You can go to my Facebook page for the very cute cat pictures.) Once you have a free Facebook "account", you can go to groups, search for "MCJC" and add the MCJC as one of your groups. When the E-Megillah is published for March 2009, I will send invitations to all of the people who are on the E-Megillah distribution list who are also on Facebook. Of course, you can ignore the invitation and you can sign up at any time.

An early network diagram

I have often been surprised to learn that people in the Jewish community, who I have known slightly for years, are far more interesting than I ever suspected or share a common interest with me, that I never knew about. Sadly, sometimes this has happened when I am hearing their eulogy. Facebook could be a way for us to share a little more information about ourselves with others in the Jewish community. Maybe I will find someone else who thinks that Mikhail Bugakov is a genius, believes that pickled herring is nature's most perfect food or that living with six cats doesn't necessarily mean one is just an "old crazy cat guy".

hope that the MCJC group will become a place to post links to articles of Jewish interest (whatever that is) and local items. It could be used to let the community know when rides or other services are needed or available; and perhaps have online discussions on items of common interest (like what are the Talmudic contributions of Ben Zoma, whether women should chant Torah ;-) or what is the ultimate Challah recipe).

Formal or informal events could be posted, like:

• "Sandy Glickfeld will be performing selections from her Grammy winning recordings the works of Henry Clay Work at Davies Hall, in SF, September 12th, SRO";
• "Jane Corey is putting in her kayak at Elk Beach tomorrow ay 8 AM and is looking for paddle buddies";
• "Susan Hofberg is going to the Point Arena Theater tonight to see Hellboy 3, does anyone want to carpool (it starts at 7)?".

For some hints to new users of Facebook see my article A Few Facebook Tips for New Users

© Robert G. Evans 2009

updated 02/27/2009 - rge

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