Google + and the debate about Friends vs Acquaintance

Earlier this month Google announced "circles" as an alternative to the ubiquitous "friends" on its social networking venture Google+.

"Why is it a big deal?" - you may ask. The typical "friend list" of your favourite social networking site contains less than 10% of people you would normally classify as a "friend". The remaining are at best acquaintances - work colleagues who find you socially acceptable, neighbours, classmates etc etc. There is therefore a big gulf between the REAL world and the WWW world in this respect. 

"So what if one has more "friends" on the WWW world than in the REAL world?" - you may ask. The answer to that is slightly more involved. Firstly try and recollect the behaviours of all the "friends" in the WWW world. I was able to come up with the following types of "friends" -

1. RIP VAN WINKLES - these are "friends" who connected with you in the virtual world and then disappeared. ZZZZZZZZZ. Once in a while they wake up accept a few more "friends" and then go back into their slumber ZZZZZZZZ
2. PEEPING TOMS - these are "friends" who will like everything you have to post/photos/Comments etc. "I lost my job today" you might post and before you know it someone will come out and "like it". Is that their real reaction - hopefully not but it gives them the power to note everyone else's views on your posts.
3. CLEOPATRAS - these are your "friends" who have the urge to share everything about themselves - from the hole in their sock to the colour of their undies - you get the gist.
4. SHERLOCK HOLMES - these friends would post something weird like " very worried today about NATO not locating Gaddafi yet" designed for you to ask obvious questions.

If you like me are someone who embraced the WWW based social networking but are intimidated by its power, scale and complete disrespect about privacy then the RIP VAN WINKLES, CLEOPATRAS, PEEPING TOMS AND SHERLOCK HOLMES compound your position and lay bare all your information, thoughts and feelings. The simple thought about "Circles" from Google+ looks very powerful indeed.

There was a time when making friends was a wholly REAL-world and interactive affair. Commitment, Time, Personal Preferences were differentiating factors attached to whom you allowed into your life. That made the whole process driven based on relationships and not numbers and convenience. 

Social Networking sites on the other hand have focused on quantity of connects rather than quality and offer conveniences that alter your decision making patterns - like "GPS/Location" based services that indicate whom you should meet based on convenience  rather than your priorities.

I guess in the end it boils down to whether you are an OLD WORLD artefact like me who chooses quality over quantity or the new world citizen in pursuit of the BIGGER, FASTER, BETTER and MORE.

Whatever your inclination i guess the following quote from  W Somerset Maugham is ever green " In the pursuit of friendship never get short changed by personality over character ". The same should apply for our virtual world as well.




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