Online and Offline are Inline

To me, one of the most confusing refrains in response to someone being offended or upset over anything online is “Relax! It’s just the Internet. It’s not real life”

I’ve never fully understood this attitude. The idea that having an ‘online’ life is somehow not ‘real’ leads to the idea that people who spend time socializing online don’t ‘have lives’.

Last night I went out to a great spontaneous tweetup with 5 people I’ve met and got to know online. It was a real life meeting, with real food, drinks and social interaction. Yet a large part of my relationship with each of them occurs online.

Last week, I went to see the new Star Trek movie with rtraction who gave away tickets to local Twitterers. I met some new people and saw a great movie just because of a connection made online.

I don’t think this experience is unique to heavy users of social media either. I’ve seen everything from birthday parties to political rallies organized on Facebook. Are these events any less real because they’re organized virtually?

Facebook has taken off because it allows users to keep in touch with friends and family that they may not otherwise. It allows users to know people by real names and mirrors real relationships users have with each other.

If you’ve ever tried to manage your personal and professional image separately, you quickly learn how difficult it is to make a strong distinction between the two. Of course there will be differences, but they are rarely dramatically different.

As people move to using their real names, profiles and are more strongly linked to their online usernames, I scratch my head at the idea that somehow online image management can be any different. In fact, in my experience, it makes any sort of distinction harder.

Drawing a line between the online world and the offline world is something I’ve seen a lot in advertisements that make an awkward distinction between their online and offline campaigns/images.

The fact of the matter is that technology isn’t just for geeks anymore. Online isn’t just a fun place to go and role-play. Conversations online are no less real and genuine than a conversation on the telephone or by letter for that matter. They may have different characteristics (as would a telephone or business conversation differ from a letter or friendly conversation) but they are real nonetheless.

The word virtual doesn’t only mean the opposite of real. It also means a simulation.

The dialogue, interactions and relationship may only ‘simulate’ real-life conversations (just as the telephone might simulate real-life discussions), but the ideas and dynamics between participants are just as ‘real’ as ever.