Bowling Alone Yet Standing In Line Together
by Marianne Richmond

Robert Putnam in his book Bowling Alone, The Collapse and Revival of American Community, writes that our social capital has declined and that we have become disconnected from family, friends, civic involvement, and shared experiences. He notes that more Americans are bowling than ever before but that the number of bowling leagues has declined precipitously. I am not doubting the validity of his research, I just think he is missing the social web.

Take the iPhone for instance....Thomas Hawk, CEO of Zoomr writes: "Before I dig into the iPhone I thought I'd reflect back a bit on the last 36 hours or so. First of all, to those who say it was stupid to camp out overnight at the Palo Alto Apple store when I could have gotten it waiting only 4 hours in line at a At&T store somewhere else, you just don't get it.

Camping out last night at the Palo Alto Apple store was not about an iPhone. It was about an experience. Something that I value far more than my new iPhone."

It wasn't just "an experience"....it was a shared experience. It was shared in person, in lines and shared in live streams. AND if it weren't for the social web, I wouldn't be sitting in St. Louis, Missouri clicking on a link and seeing Robert Scoble in Half Moon Bay, CA on the cover of the Mercury News and nodding first in recognition, the I "know" him phenomena; then "WOW...Robert Scoble, former Microsoft guy, was standing in line for an iPhone wearing a t-shirt that says," I got iPhone."

iShare....experiences. And that t-shirt beats those bowling league shirts hands down.

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Submitted by Marianne Richmond (view blog) on Sat, 06/30/2007 - 11:29pm

Comments

 

Bowling alone

I still think that Putnam pointed to decreased civic engagement for a number of reasons, among them 2 breadwinners in one family and the pull of watching TV, movies, etc. at home. I like your example of other ways to create social capital but most of these encounters are virtual not in-person. Hopefully, virtual meeting places refuel social capital and, more important, what I call political capital--engagement in voluntary political activities. As we know, here the Internet has a lot of potential.\
Enjoyed your post.

Submitted by BrigitteN. on Sun, 07/01/2007 - 09:43
 

Agree!

My post was a definite oversimplification of his book...but I do think his research was done before the real onset of the social web and online communities.

Marianne

Marianne Richmond
resonancepartnership

Submitted by Marianne Richmond on Sun, 07/01/2007 - 17:37
 

Quality of experiences

I get what you're saying, but how deep are the experiences that can be had online or waiting outside of a store?

I enjoy blogging, reading other blogs, and communicating with people I'll probably never meet, but are those the types of experiences that are sustainable and truly meaningful?

I kind of view those types of experiences as a mediocre substitute for real life. If I am feeling isolated, reading someone's blog might temporarily lift my spirits, but it isn't nearly the same as having someone to talk to on the phone or, even better, hang out with.

We need real-life connections. I think there are many people who have almost none. No amount of social networking can take the place of one friend who can help you move or spend time with you.

Wheat Among Tares

Submitted by Terri987 on Sun, 07/01/2007 - 16:20
 

Real life connections

Well, I don't think I was suggesting that standing in line was a substitute for friendship....nor did I mean to suggest that reading someone's blog was a substitute for talking to a friend on the phone.

However, online connections become off line friendships that are very much real life....come to a Blogher conference and you will see what I mean.

I agree, we do need real life connections but there are many ways to make them.

Marianne

Marianne Richmond
resonancepartnership

Submitted by Marianne Richmond on Sun, 07/01/2007 - 17:22