I have been spending a bit of time over at Joi Ito’s IRC channel on freenode (#joiito). I’d long since given up on IRC and didn’t see much of a reason to do it until Joi suggested that I do.
Ten years ago, when only a few people knew about DALnet, I found it a great way to get to know other like-minded net heads. I’d stay up late (I could because I was at Uni at the time) and chatted with friends from the rest of the globe. I gave it up when I started work and late nights weren’t feasible anymore.
A few years ago I tried it again, and found that DALnet had grown to a swarm of pr0n hawkers and spotty faced teenagers that enjoyed a flame war more than a quiet chat. I was kicked within minutes for saying that I liked a movie. Not much to be kicked for really. So I wrote IRC off.
In my case my blog is a form of social networking, I’m a Blogalite at heart. It helps me reach like-minded people through the internet. It’s like an IRC channel but in slow motion, giving me time to collect my thoughts and publish them thoughtfully. What I have found from Joi’s channel is that it helps extend my social network at a rapid pace. I now look at the two tools as complementary.
The Parlor, link thanks to Jeannie.
