The Social Networking Phenomenon

I have to admit it.

I've become somewhat addicted to social networking. Or at least the concepts behind it all.

And it's not just me. My wife, daughters and son all participate in on line social networking in one way or another.

Web sites like Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and of course Blogger really intrigue me. What is it about these web sites? What is it that makes them so popular? What draws people of all ages from around the world and all walks of life to them?

I've thought about this for a while. Well, not for 'really' long, but long enough to develop a hypothosis.

I believe that these on line communities (in one form or another) have become a substitute for the close knit families and neighborhoods that have disappeared during the last few generations.

Friends and families are often dispersed across the country or even around the world. This is much different than in years gone by when multiple generations of a family would live in the same city, neighborhood, or sometimes even in the same house!

In the last few decades, our modern societies have lost their connection to family and friends. I really think that we miss that, and that it has adversely affected our society and culture.

Social networking is really nothing other than a mechanism for people to communicate with each other again. Family and friends are finding each other; catching up on years of missed events and news; reconnecting with people that they really love, people that they have missed.

We are also making new connections. We are finding new friends and developing relationships without actually meeting each other in the physical sense.

I believe that social networking makes technology truly personal, almost in a human way. We are connected again.

Returned FROM Carriacou!

Our family has returned from our 12 days and 11 nights on Carriacou, and we miss the island already.

It was a great trip made during an interesting and historic time, as the National Democratic Congress won the election to lead Grenada while we were there.

I kept a blog of our trip and have published each day as a separate entry on my blog site...
backtocarriacou.blogspot.com/

The blog is a mix of entertaining trip report, useful travel information, and minor commentary. You may or may not agree with my point of view, but being able to publish these comments is one of the benefits of being the author.

We hope that you enjoy reading the blog posts and that in some way it helps you make a trip to our favorite Caribbean destination... Carriacou!

Airplane Passenger Etiquette - Top Ten List

Airplane Passenger Etiquette.

I believe that these words create an oxymoron.

I consider myself a patient traveler. Which is a good thing, because most everyone else traveling by air these days seems to have a real issue.

I'm not quite certain what the problem is. Are that many air travelers 'first-time' visitors to the airport, or has our culture created a simply rude public.

Regardless of which group they fall into, here are some rules of the road (or should that be air?) that can make life easier for ALL of us who must travel by air.

1. Get to the airport on time and schedule connecting flights with adequeate time between flights. Here's the deal folks; traveling by plane takes time. Assume that your day will be shot making the trip by air. Once you accept that, it's a lot easier to schedule your time correctly. You have to expect the worse: A lack of parking spaces at the airport; Broken ticket terminals at the check-in area; Long lines at security; Delayed incoming planes; Gate changes. Having to wait an hour for a flight is much easier on your nerves than running late to catch the plane.
2. Pack bags to meet airline rules. Know the weight and size limits; then follow the rules for checked and carry-on bags. There are no exceptions.
3. Listen to the TSA staff at security. These poor folks repeat the same message over and over (and over) again. "Take your computers out of your bag... No liquids, gels or lotions... Hold on to your boarding passes... ", yet again and again (and again), people don't listen. It's not that tough. Geesz!
4. Flight delays due to weather are for your protection. How entertaining to hear travelers complain about the airline delaying or canceling flights because of weather conditions. Do you mean that you would rather be up in the air flying THROUGH that thunderstorm? Yeah. Okay.
5. Board the plane when your row or group is called. Again. Not too tough folks. If you are there at the gate, the plane is not going to leave without you. Sit your anxious self down and wait your turn. Stop running up to the agent or crowding the line for those of us who may be boarding before you. We will all get on the plane. I promise. Just relax.
   
6. Be patient getting through the jetway / plane aisle. The other passengers can only get in the plane and sit down so fast. Again... We will all get on the plane. Relax.
7. Don't try to cram a too-big bag in the too-small overhead space. Look. If you are going to pack THAT much stuff, please check your bag. If it looks too big to fit in the overhead, it is probably too big to fit in the overhead.
8. Respect the privacy of fellow passengers. It's always nice to greet your seat mates. However, if they are not obviously interested in having a conversation for the duration of the trip, then please let then travel in peace. They may be tired, stressed, or just not in the mood to hear about your problems.
9. Keep your carry-on food to yourself. With the lack of airline food, many travelers like to bring their own meal on-board. That's great. Unless you are sitting next to someone with a smelly or sloppy meal. Understand that the whole plane does not want to smell your double garlic, onions and peppers sandwich. And that pork barbecue sandwich is fine, but not when it get's splattered on my suit.
10. Depart the plane in an orderly manner. I've saved my biggest pet peave for last. What makes people think that they are going anywhere as soon as the plane stops at the jetway. So many passengers jump up, grab their carry-on bags and wait to sprint off the plane. One catch. The door's still closed and there are a bunch of people in front of them. Here is where true etiquette is lacking. Why not demonstrate some humanity and depart the plane row by row, taking turns instead of rushing ahead of everyone else and pushing granny out of the way to get off the plane before her.

Traveling by air does not need to be stressful. Do yourself and the rest of us a favor and relax... slow down... and please follow these ten air travel tips to improve airplane passenger etiquette.

Three Things In Life

I receive a lot of email. Too much email. A portion of it is junk mail (although my email program seems to do a good job of catching most of that). A lot of it gets deleted after reading the first sentence or two. Some of it never even gets read, but simply deleted once I see who sent it to me (sorry Mom!).

The messages that make me cringe are those that insist I forward the contents or I will be doomed to bad luck forever. Hmm... what if they are right?

There's also the guilty conscience messages. You know, "You don't love Jesus if you don't forward this to ten friends in five seconds!"

For some reason, I opened a note this week that I normally would have just canned. I thought that the message was somewhat profound. With just a couple of edits to improve the readability, I present here "Three Things in Life". I hope that you enjoy it as much as I did.

There are three things in life that, once gone, never come back.

- Time
- Words
- Opportunity

There are three things in life that are invaluable.

- Unconditional Love

- Self-Confidence

- Real Friends

There are three things in life that are never certain.

- Dreams

- Success

- Fortune

There are three things in life that define a person.

- Work Ethic

- Sincerity

- Commitment

There are three things in life that can destroy a person.

- Substance Abuse

- Selfish Pride

- Uncontrolled Anger

There are three things in life that, once lost, are difficult to recover.

- Respect

- Trust

- Friendship

Twitter

Have you seen Twitter yet?

Twitter is a blog site for those if us who are not talented enough to actually "write something" that is meaningful enough to make people want to sit there and read.

I think of Twitter as the CNN Headline News of blog sites. I love CNN Headline News. I can get all of the world news that I need in fifteen minutes with very little fluff.

Twitter users can post up to 140 characters per entry, and can submit their entries via the Twitter web site, SMS or IM. That allows users to make updates from just about anywhere. Pretty darn ingenious.

I have always felt like blog sites were the ideal place for people to author an extensive rant, and well... I just don't rant that much (I have not found it worth the time or effort). H0wever, with Twitter, I can quickly and easily publish just a brief thought or two to share with family and friends.

Twitter could be just what I was looking for to fill the gaps between posts to this site. Check it out for yourself at twitter.com, or to view my entries, browse to twitter.com/yagelski.