how did the world change and it suddenly became so easy to hang out with people?
i wasn't planning on doing this. i did not think this sort of thing was possible. it's easier than going to class on the first day when the teacher has everyone go around in a circle and introduce yourself. you just find an interesting "hangout" on Google+ and join at the assigned time - and everyone is all chatty like they already know you. thing is, we don't. we're total strangers for the most part. we are just wanderers meeting on the internet in the new social network called Google+. and well, everyone seems pretty darn excited about it.
i've known about the ability to "hang out" for a couple of weeks now but i was hesitant to participate. i dunno, maybe i was just in a sour mood or something that first week. a person i have actually known via the nets (and met in person one time) kept pinging me to hangout, but i never responded. until this past Friday night. he made an announcement that he and his best friend were just going to be hanging out in their garage playing music together. sounded pretty laid back so i thought i'd check in and see what it was like for a few minutes. it turned out to be really awesome. the guys were drunk and were acting crazy and playing some loud, rambunctious noisy garage band music and it was sort of like being there with them. the sound was good, the video was good. oh, and i sent a text message to a friend of mine that i thought would enjoy participating in the hangout and he came and joined in too. i stuck around for about a half an hour. it was after midnight and i think they ran out to get In-N-Out burgers afterwards.
the next evening i learned about another "hangout" that was going to happen that sounded really interesting. a female musician named Daria Musk was going to give a live concert from her studio in her home in Connecticut. it was just a matter of showing up on time and logging in when she opened the "hangout". i was actually the very first one to enter her room. i had watched a couple of her music videos beforehand so i knew what she looked like and knew what her music sounded like. i knew i was in for a treat of an experience. right when i entered her virtual "room" she saw me and said hello with a big, welcoming smile. i said hello right back, as if we had already known each other. then within seconds more people came into the room and there was chatter going on between the audience and Daria. after a few minutes of introductions she broke right into song, and man o man, it was soo fantastic. the sound was great, the video transmission was smooth and Daria is just so vibrant and loving with her spirit and song. it was a love fest right of the bat.
there's one limitation right now with "hangouts" that only 10 people can fit into a hangout at a time so to be polite to other's waiting to come into a popular hangout, like this one was bound to be, people bowed out after a short spell. i stayed for 3 songs and chat in between songs for about 15 minutes then left. well, later last night Daria announced on her wall that the concert had just ended and that it had lasted 6.5 hours!!! her mind was blown that she was so well received and that so many people kept coming in to see and listen to her. when i was in the room with her there was a man there from Argentina and another man from Norway. most were from the states though, and most were men.
this is one thing that the statistics are showing, that the main population in Google+ right now is male. so today i made a point of going around finding as many of the interesting and active female members as i could and introduced myself and began following them. i'd love for some of my Facebook female friends to find their way into Google+ but i think there is something deadening about what happens to people's minds in Facebook that makes the people there that do not have positive experiences not be capable of understanding how a different social network could be different, or better. some will migrate, but it will be the ones that find their way there themselves. i fear that if you have to tell someone to come, they are the type that won't ever be able to figure it out.
so this afternoon i found out about another "hangout". a chef in NYC was going to give a cooking lesson on how to make potstickers. he posted a shopping list of all the ingredients that you needed to make the recipe. i had most of the ingredients in the house already and only had to run out to get the fresh ingredients. he gave the lesson twice, at 3 and 5 pm. i got into the 5pm class. well, i was prepared right from the start to cook along with him. i was sure that was his intent, for people to cook with him. turns out that of the 10 people in his hangout i was the ONLY one that cooked with him. all the rest just watched!! hahaha! so along with Lee, i was the next center of attention. everyone wanted to see how my potstickers were turning out while i progressed following his instructions. it was so much fun and i made about 30 potstickers that took me about two hours to cook and eat. i was stuffed!!!
the thing though is that i just clicked on my webcam and was in a room with a bunch of people that were doing something that i was interested in doing and all defenses fade away. there was another hangout scheduled for tonight for writers. the person who started the hangout structured it so that everyone would introduce themselves, then they would break away and "work on their writing" for 45 minutes, then check back in to report on their progress. i had gone to the health club when they started the meeting and it was over when i got back home, but she is going to do it again.
who knows what else someone else will choose to do at a hangout. and maybe i'll think of something to do at a hangout. there is actually a schedule board where people can announce the hangouts, subject, and starting time that they are going to supervise. beyond this though, i am meeting so many strangers that are really interesting people. i'm also stumbling upon some people's profiles that are rather droll that i don't really care to "follow"... you don't have to be friends with everyone here. and i may come to a point where i'll weed out some of these new people that don't provide interesting enough input to discussions i'll benefit from.
i've known about the ability to "hang out" for a couple of weeks now but i was hesitant to participate. i dunno, maybe i was just in a sour mood or something that first week. a person i have actually known via the nets (and met in person one time) kept pinging me to hangout, but i never responded. until this past Friday night. he made an announcement that he and his best friend were just going to be hanging out in their garage playing music together. sounded pretty laid back so i thought i'd check in and see what it was like for a few minutes. it turned out to be really awesome. the guys were drunk and were acting crazy and playing some loud, rambunctious noisy garage band music and it was sort of like being there with them. the sound was good, the video was good. oh, and i sent a text message to a friend of mine that i thought would enjoy participating in the hangout and he came and joined in too. i stuck around for about a half an hour. it was after midnight and i think they ran out to get In-N-Out burgers afterwards.
the next evening i learned about another "hangout" that was going to happen that sounded really interesting. a female musician named Daria Musk was going to give a live concert from her studio in her home in Connecticut. it was just a matter of showing up on time and logging in when she opened the "hangout". i was actually the very first one to enter her room. i had watched a couple of her music videos beforehand so i knew what she looked like and knew what her music sounded like. i knew i was in for a treat of an experience. right when i entered her virtual "room" she saw me and said hello with a big, welcoming smile. i said hello right back, as if we had already known each other. then within seconds more people came into the room and there was chatter going on between the audience and Daria. after a few minutes of introductions she broke right into song, and man o man, it was soo fantastic. the sound was great, the video transmission was smooth and Daria is just so vibrant and loving with her spirit and song. it was a love fest right of the bat.
there's one limitation right now with "hangouts" that only 10 people can fit into a hangout at a time so to be polite to other's waiting to come into a popular hangout, like this one was bound to be, people bowed out after a short spell. i stayed for 3 songs and chat in between songs for about 15 minutes then left. well, later last night Daria announced on her wall that the concert had just ended and that it had lasted 6.5 hours!!! her mind was blown that she was so well received and that so many people kept coming in to see and listen to her. when i was in the room with her there was a man there from Argentina and another man from Norway. most were from the states though, and most were men.
this is one thing that the statistics are showing, that the main population in Google+ right now is male. so today i made a point of going around finding as many of the interesting and active female members as i could and introduced myself and began following them. i'd love for some of my Facebook female friends to find their way into Google+ but i think there is something deadening about what happens to people's minds in Facebook that makes the people there that do not have positive experiences not be capable of understanding how a different social network could be different, or better. some will migrate, but it will be the ones that find their way there themselves. i fear that if you have to tell someone to come, they are the type that won't ever be able to figure it out.
so this afternoon i found out about another "hangout". a chef in NYC was going to give a cooking lesson on how to make potstickers. he posted a shopping list of all the ingredients that you needed to make the recipe. i had most of the ingredients in the house already and only had to run out to get the fresh ingredients. he gave the lesson twice, at 3 and 5 pm. i got into the 5pm class. well, i was prepared right from the start to cook along with him. i was sure that was his intent, for people to cook with him. turns out that of the 10 people in his hangout i was the ONLY one that cooked with him. all the rest just watched!! hahaha! so along with Lee, i was the next center of attention. everyone wanted to see how my potstickers were turning out while i progressed following his instructions. it was so much fun and i made about 30 potstickers that took me about two hours to cook and eat. i was stuffed!!!
the thing though is that i just clicked on my webcam and was in a room with a bunch of people that were doing something that i was interested in doing and all defenses fade away. there was another hangout scheduled for tonight for writers. the person who started the hangout structured it so that everyone would introduce themselves, then they would break away and "work on their writing" for 45 minutes, then check back in to report on their progress. i had gone to the health club when they started the meeting and it was over when i got back home, but she is going to do it again.
who knows what else someone else will choose to do at a hangout. and maybe i'll think of something to do at a hangout. there is actually a schedule board where people can announce the hangouts, subject, and starting time that they are going to supervise. beyond this though, i am meeting so many strangers that are really interesting people. i'm also stumbling upon some people's profiles that are rather droll that i don't really care to "follow"... you don't have to be friends with everyone here. and i may come to a point where i'll weed out some of these new people that don't provide interesting enough input to discussions i'll benefit from.
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