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Net
a Pal Online
by Lyndon Cerejo
Times of India
June 13, 1999 |
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Lisa
and I have been friends for a little over three years now. I
still remember that day in March 1996 when I opened an email
from a stranger. Settled in Canada, she was looking out for
all things Bombay on the Net, and she came across my homepage.
She like the style and tone of writing there, and decided to
click on the "email me" button at the bottom of my page. My
balloon of joy quickly deflated on reading that she had a boyfriend
who thought she was crazy for emailing a complete stranger.
With the Lakshman Rekha clearly set and intentions clear, we
became e-pals, seeing each other through break-ups, bad times,
and even homework assignments! Needless to say, we still have
yet to meet in real life, outside cyberspace.
While the mantra of business people on the Net is "Make money
fast", the other side of the Net is all about socialising -
meeting people, making friends, keeping in touch and hanging
out. Which is why if you walk into any cybercafe today, you'll
discover that email is the most used service, followed by online
chatting. Email, for keeping in touch with friends and family,
and chatting to make new friends and hang out with existing
ones. If you've just got onto the Net, or if you've been using
the Net only for serious uses like education and research, loosen
up and let go - there's a lot of fun in store for you. To get
you started off, here's the Internet equivalent of "How to make
friends …"
Chat Rooms
The fastest way to find like-minded people online is to log
on to one of the hundreds of chat rooms available on the Net.
Chat rooms are virtual hangout places on the Net where people
talk with each other through their keyboards. TalkCity, one
of the most popular chat sites today, has chat rooms dedicated
to almost any topic and interest under the sun, so you won't
have a problem finding one that suits you. Chat today is no
longer restricted only to text, but also includes images (like
your snap), and icons to convey a particular mood (from a smile
to a bomb). Those who use text-only accounts can turn to IRC
(Internet Relay Chat), which, though not as intuitive, can be
as much fun.
Instant communications tools
A slight variation of chat, there are many instant messaging
tools available today - ICQ, PeopleLink, AOL Instant messenger
and Yahoo! Pager being a few. While the primary purpose of these
programs is to allow you to communicate one-on-one with people
you know, most offer you a random search feature. Search for
someone with similar interests, and you could be making friends
in a few seconds - that's not difficult, is it?
Mailing lists
Mailing lists are discussion groups on various topics that anyone
with an email address can sign up for. Unlike chat however,
communication takes place via email and all members of the group
can contribute to the discussion, opening up a whole new e-friend
circle. Free mailing list services like Liszt, Listbot, CoolList
and Egroups offer you a chance to belong to or start email discussion
groups on any topic that interests you - be it silly or serious.
Match.com
Matrimonials are passé, personals are in. Online matchmaking
sites like Match.com allow you to create your profile and search
for others who match up to what you look for in a friend or
partner. When you come across matches, you can establish anonymous
contact through the site and slowly exchange email addresses,
phone numbers, and slowly take that friendship back to the real
world. These personal sites also take into consideration the
kind of relationship you're looking out for - be it just an
email pal or a long term romantic relationship.
People Lookup
Remember your college sweetheart, your school bully, or that
person you met at the conference last month? Getting in touch
with them online takes a few clicks with services like Four11,
Bigfoot, WhoWhere, SixDegrees, and alumni services like BatchMates
or World Alumni Net . Type in a name and you may find
them online. If those efforts fail, try using search engines
like Altavista, HotBot or Excite - if your targets have a homepage,
your search will throw it up for you to pursue - the way Lisa
found mine.
The Internet can be a very friendly place to be in and its reach
and informality makes finding and making friends as simple as
a few mouse clicks. People use the Net to make friends online,
and as comfort levels improve, take those friendships to the
next level by meeting each other. You'll also hear the occasional
met-online-got-married story; log on - you never know what your
online friendships will turn to!
Copyright Holder: Times of India |
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