Making friends, hunting for jobs and meeting people with shared interests and passions make social networking the best human link.
Being fair and balanced while reporting is a cardinal rule to being a good journalist. But heaven forbid if the subject in hand is remotely linked to social networking.
Fighting all natural instincts to break into a song glorifying networking sites, we present excerpts from a series of interviews (by email, telephone and face-to-face) conducted with a cross section of people of varying ages living in and outside the UAE.
The verdict was, by and large, unanimous. To many, social networking sites were fast becoming their best mates. It also became evident that the pros of connecting with long-lost friends, chatting with strangers bound by similar interests in music, politics and business and creating one's own personal space on the web outweighed the negatives such as privacy and security issues.
And truth be told, the overwhelmingly positive response to an e-mail about social networking was a strong indication that online hobnobbing has become an integral part of our reality. Here are the excerpts ...
Name: Tammy Timawi, AKA one of the best party planners
Say hello to Tammy, who is an ardent believer of publicising her events online. "Promoting is a skill, and there are lots of ways to maximise the effect – none that I will divulge! With Prestige Clubbing, we set up our group page, which is an effective way of keeping in touch with our family of clubbers. Pestering contacts with a barrage of emails is passe," she says.
Name: Rana AKA Facebook Addict
Facebook runs my life! I have lost count of the number of times that I log on to my account in a day. There are times when I feel that if I were to channel all the energy spent on Facebook towards my work, I would top the best employee of the month list. (I hope my boss is not reading this!) On a more serious note, how on earth would I remember people's birthdays, plan parties or touch base with old classmates without Facebook? It's becoming a natural extension of me.
Name: Jitendra Jain AKA the Perfect Hospitality Host
I spend as many as 10-15 hours per week blogging and updating various sites I have created. It all began in 2003 when I launched my first website (www.thetalentjungle.com) in Switzerland. This site was directed at facilitating contact among students and professionals in the hospitality industry.
In 2005, I launched the site www.ixpats.com, directed at linking expatriates such as me. To me, the best part about social networking is the ease with which communication and connectivity has improved.
A decade or so ago, such a thought was not even heard of. Great tools and seamless integration have made this a point-and-click process, separating form and content and allowing users to have their say on the Web without worrying about technicalities traditionally associated with internet publishing. And as far as boundaries are concerned, the sky is the limit.
For instance, from launching hobby websites I soon graduated to launching my signature blogs. We hear about the world shrinking, but social networking sites have brought the people closer together.
Name: Megha Abraham AKA Bitten By The Blogger Bug
I got into blogging a few years ago when I felt the need to pen down my thoughts. It started off as a personal diary page and has now become a thinking-aloud space. I have made some brilliant friends too.
We exchange ideas about writing styles and techniques. What I love most about blogging is the sense of freedom and space it provides. It's also a portal that's helped create such a wonderful fabric of exchange, transcending genders and nationalities.
