Similar to you, I actually don’t recall turning to my computer for social connection in the first few weeks after 9/11. However, I do remember turning to my computer soon thereafter to develop business relationships over very long distances. The primary driver for me was motivated by safety (I was a tad fearful of boarding a 747 missile) and cost. Few clients were spending and it was a buyer’s markets, so we were really pinching pennies like many others — and that drove me to rely more heavily on the web.

From my POV, I find it is easy to believe Sam’s experience on 9/11 is genuine. Also it is safe to say that the sky’s the limit when it comes to enterprise software applications that enable social change.

Oftentimes the barrier to adoption is at an individual human level and is sometimes due to lack of strong, disciplined leadership and core beliefs and social values, ie like cooperation and openness.

As opposed to what you said you believe, I DO believe honest interactions are abundant on the web, especially for those of us who believe our future is up to us, ie the aggregate of our individual actions impact our collective results.

I don’t remember an urge dictating in the months, years that I should connect with strangers or as you say: “We turned to our computers.”

I watched TV that night, several hours after the most bizarre client meeting in the afternoon (after the first Tower fell). Importantly, I do remember turning off the channels (TV, radio, newspapers) eventually and thinking it was more important to play with my two-year old and bring/seek comfort with family and friends.

Steve, I think we still close the walls even with “open” “free” SoMe tools and social software. A lot of time, I feel like we still self-select those we agree with and validate. I don’t see a lot of honest interaction for that promotes social change – seems like we’re more often tweeting for business promotion or recapping our current pleasures. For example, for all the social media coverage of recent hurricanes (and there was excellent resources and alerts), can we point to actual humanitarian efforts and relief in Haiti, Dominican Republic, Cuba? Seemed like once the storms fizzled in America, not enough people cared.

Ed, I need a little help seeing parallels with our current social media culture. Seems like the shared experiences like Obama TV or StandUp2Cancer online are so much smaller than 9-11-01 and the weeks that followed. But I share your optimism that we can accomplish great things together with (and without) social media.

I personally believe that it is a fundmental *need* of almost all human beings to feel as though they are a part of a community, to feel connected to other human beings in meaninful ways.

To barrow a term from cisco’s recent advertising campaign “the human network” (community) gains strength and felxability the greater the connectivity between the nodes (humans.)

Social software is (at least I think it is) all about increasing the connectivity, strength, and felxability of the human created networks / communities… both on a small and large scale.

-N

I challenge the readers to reach out to individuals which you have wondered about from previous employers, college, or social situations to re engage the back to be a contributing member of your circle once more.