virtual voluntary

From the Atlantic re: Pew study
"The Pew Internet data essentially reinforces Clay Shirky's thesis in Here Comes Everybody (2008) on organizing in the digital age: As new innovations in media and information technology make communication infinitely more efficient, the costs of organizing plummet, creating more opportunities for collective action in the digital realm. Communities like Reddit and 4chan, for example, do have a "home base" on a particular website, yet have no need to deploy firm-like systems of complex rules to reduce the costs of engaging in communal activity; they simply act, with minimal direction." 

Along with our speculations we can consult some real studies of ways that the internet effects social capital.  I recommend this short piece which helps move the conversation from the anecdotal to the aggregate.

And the truth is...... it is just not simple, even if different than before and largely more positive than negative.

My questions remain however.  I'm wondering about the fundamental difference between being in the same space with other people, being able to see their expressions, smell their sweat, touch the texture of their clothing, share the same cake with them, and merely watching them on a video-link.  This is a basic matter of how we understand our selves as human beings, embodied spirits who take up space and who have several senses.