The Chat is Back
The role of cafeterias in the world history has been well documented.
Political gatherings in cafes and debates on new ideas have led to
changes in social order and revolutions. But an interesting point here
is that while talking about the role of a cafe, we are actually
talking about the role of a chat.
Recently I became a member of a spontaneous Skype chat that was
started in order to congratulate some friends on the birth of their
first child. Suddenly the chat became so funny that no one wanted to
leave it. In the coming days we found ourselves actively talking about
many serious political issues, about economy but also making jokes.
The chat denied any rules of gravity or netiquette. Often it generated
300+ messages in 2-3 hours. It flew freely, in whatever direction the
wind was blowing. Sometimes there was no point, sometimes there was a
very serious agenda. Sometimes the chat became so ridiculously funny
that people said that they can not keep it open, unless they were
safely at home and they could laugh freely.
One day a friend of mine told me "you look really happy, what's up?".
Indeed, I was having a good time thinking back at some thing at the
chat that I had said myself and it made me smile like a moron. But the
point is that at one moment I discovered that there is some strange
link to the chat and the fact that I felt really cool around IRL.
Well, you may say that this is like with any chat room, the phenomena
that I personally have parcipated since 1991. But this may not be
true. The thing is that in chat small details matter (just as in
cafes). And these small details have changed and so has the role of
the chat.
First, more different people have entered the chat arena, second, new
user interfaces have entered the market, like Skype. (which can look
similar to MSN, but is not in some small important aspects). Our lives
have become more digital in every aspects and we finally learn to cope
with it as biological beings.
So, try mixing very different people into a chat and forget the rules.
The chat that can change you can change the world.
at 1:08 AM Posted by Distant Signals 0 comments
Tuesday, April 3, 2007
New Doggie
Last weekend I had some cold and had to stay at home. Did a marathon
of new worlds: Kaneva, There, Lounge, Hive7, Club Penguin, Habbo
Hotel, Gaia Online. Checked out also Miniclip. There are definitely
many things going on in virtual worlds at the moment. Kaneva and
Lounge seemed most promising.
I wondered why they don't have pets in Second Life but then it came
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