While being a part of a close-knit group of seven girls from high school is great, it is undoubtedly hard to keep in touch when we are all so far apart and busy at our respective schools. Therefore, we decided to create a group, unrelated to facebook so no one could see it, to tell one other what is going on in our lives and get feedback when needing help. We had heard of private groups through yahoo.com so we started up the group using this source called "keep in touch". It allows us to share pictures, create discussion, and post randomly. Our community is frequented often, and just today one of my friends wrote a long post describing her boy troubles and needed advice desperately. By the end of the day she had four replies telling her what to do. Although we all have friends at school, it is the bonds we have developed over years and years with each other that allow us to share everything and know we are getting the help from the people that know us the best.
According to SNA, we are a utopic, “world is flat”, community, describing the element of gemeinshaft. We all have very strong ties to one another, have a shared focus and common purpose, and communicate in the same language. Our strong ties have been created through our daily contact in high school and now frequent use of our private group. There is a complete sense of reciprocity because anyone can post and they will always get feedback on what they said. It makes us feel more like a cohesive unit, where we know our secrets are safe. Although we don’t know each other’s new friends well, we are all sharing the college experience simultaneously, allowing us to relate to situations we may not even be a part of. We also have the common ground of our group space and frequently view one another’s pictures to really understand the lives we are living when apart. This group, along with our strong ties, let our friendship carry from CMC to Ftf without any awkward discomfort. It is like we have been together all along and are just continuing the everyday conversation. Therefore, there are synergies between the online and offline spaces that allow us to keep the community intact no matter where we are.
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Hey Rachel,
Your post was really similar to mine except the reverse. I applied the SNA to my close circle of friends that I have at college and how we use facebook threads to keep in touch over the summer. And you used the SNA on your close friends back home and how you guys use a private chat group. I agree with you that if you are close friends with someone then you can easily move the relationship for FtF to CMC wihtout any discomfort. Stronger ties definatly use multiple forms of media to communicate.
Great post rachel! I think it's awesome that you and your friends keep in touch. Being a guy....with guy friends....hardly any of them would be into that sort of thing. There is definitely no advice on girls and no pictures of those wild weekend parties. Oh well though, there are lots of stories to tell come Christmas break. I really enjoyed the examples you used to represent each aspect of SNA. It's good to have friends like you do. Even though you guys aren't physically close, you can still keep in touch and know what each other is doing. Good job!
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