25 comments

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  Tracy

  9 months ago

  So very true. I don't mind expanding my on-line universe, but when it comes to building long term relationships...I am casting my vote for the genuine, real-life (not wax figure) handshake, hug, smile, etc...the interaction "in-person". Nothing beats it and it doesn't feel real til I do.
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  ophelia_chong

  9 months ago

  true. trusting our natural instincts on meeting people in the flesh is how we survive. as we all know, anyone can be whatever they want to be online.
  
  :O) thanks for commenting!
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  SEO

  9 months ago

  Got to agree with you on that. True relationship should be offline and real-life. At least we get to interact via our 5 senses.
  Rif Chia
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  Derrick

  9 months ago

  I have to admit I was weary of engaging in social media/network stuff because I *do* like human interaction, I'm a people person. But I've come to realize lately that meeting up with people and utilizing social networks don't have to be mutually exclusive. These paths cross over and back again, and I've met some really cool people as part of the process and the cliche of the nerd behind a glaring laptop screen surrounded by empty Red Bull cans at 3 in the morning doesn't really apply to me (anymore).
  
  Good call on that Zuckerberg/Lacy debacle. *head hits desk* What was she thinking?
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  ophelia_chong

  9 months ago

  Its a lot of work. And it's the value of the commitment that rings true. Most are not going to work that hard to actually meet or converse beyond the Social Networks. The people I have met are all amazing, granted there were a few that weren't, but the majority 99% are the best.
  
  And as for Sarah Lacy, learning to listen is the first rule of Interviewing.
  
  thanks for commenting! :O)
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  Tech blog

  9 months ago

  I feel that this pattern is good for those people who wanna earn without giving a care about anything else...I mean just online contact, work done and payment received....And the process rolls on
  
  The handshake philosophy is for those, where making money is not the only criteria for doing a business..
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  ophelia_chong

  9 months ago

  A handshake means something, eye contact, the sound of a voice, goes a long way other than a text or IM. Strong business relationships are built on personal contact.
  
  Thanks for commenting. :O)
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  Emily Wong

  9 months ago

  How true! I've heard so many online dating horror stories from friends (where their potential soul mates misrepresented themselves). There's nothing quite like seeing someone in person and hearing a real laugh rather than seeing a LOL pop up on your monitor.
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  ophelia_chong

  9 months ago

  how true. there are a few stories out there that make me cringe.
  thank you for commenting. :O)
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  Tom

  9 months ago

  So thrilling.
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  ophelia_chong

  9 months ago

  not as thrilling as shaking my sweaty little paw.
  
  thanks for commenting. :O)
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  JimFrazier

  9 months ago

  Sadly, I am just as prone to being a drip in cyber-realms as in-person. However I can often shine at the "hit and run" quip. See?
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  ophelia_chong

  9 months ago

  you are too funny. your illustrations grace the top magazines and books. you shine on paper, on the web and in person.
  
  thank you for commenting. :O)
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  Luis Orellana

  9 months ago

  I think that may be true in certain cultures. But he American way of doing business has always had a certain coldness, distance, aloofness, that to other cultures not familiar with the American way of transacting a business may perceive as rude? In Latin America you must become a friend before the person you are after gives you their business. In Asian cultures it becomes more of a ritual or ceremony before you can do business. At least that’s how previous generations used to do it. However our kids are being raised without it. So like they say, how can you miss something if you have never known it? It’s us oldies but goodies that miss this warm handshake, the smiles, this sharing of a coffee or drink. The new generation of youngster have never know this, so like it or not, that’s how business will continue to be conducted, not only here, but all over the world. It’s here to stay, so get used to it.
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  ophelia_chong

  9 months ago

  Great observations Luis.
  
  Social skills are lacking in the new generation. There is something nice to getting or sending a Thank You note. In the Asian culture you bring a gift to a dinner your client is paying for, never show up empty handed. An exchange of gifts is mandatory, it shows respect and value to the relationships.
  
  Its a ritual of looking at someone in the eyes and offering your hand in friendship.
  
  Thanks for commenting. :O)
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  danhhoang

  9 months ago

  You bring up a good point as it looks like we are venturing away from close, personal networking to soulless beings on the other side of the terminal.
  
  I for one enjoys the face to face business meeting rather than the over the air but I have found more success online as of late so maybe it's not entirely a bad thing to not see each other in person but as long as the job gets done.
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  ophelia_chong

  9 months ago

  Meeting a client goes a long way, you build a personal relationship that goes further than emails and basecamp. And meeting people you met online brings a whole new level of understanding and depth to the relationships.
  :O)
  Thanks for commenting my traveling friend.
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  Michael Masterson

  9 months ago

  Nothing will ever replace the experience of looking someone in the eye to really know who they are (just ask anyone who's ever experimented with Internet dating!). But our online persona and relationships have become so much of who and what we are now. And there's still someone sitting at that keyboard and it's not an avatar.
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  ophelia_chong

  9 months ago

  True.
  
  I believe you are onto something there, as we "mature" online we become more aware of its reach and that we are going to be held to our words.
  
  Thanks for commenting. :O)))
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  amp

  9 months ago

  My dear O - not to be an apologist for technology, but I must protest . . . not about touching, per se - handshakes, (as well kisses, hugs, foot massages - NOT in a biz relationship, of course) are fine. But much of this in-the-flesh contact has in some ways always tripped me up - as have inspirational speeches, intimate vows of loyalty and bald-faced lies.
  
  How impersonal did people find an earlier tool of social networking, - the telephone? Very much so - initially, but it turned out to be an instrument of intimacy upon which big news, big affairs an big deals turned.
  
  I personally was thrilled at the advent of the ATM- as others lamented losing personal contact with tellers and bank personnel, I happily shed the need to stand in forever-long queues only to be greeted by some of the most hostile human beings on the planet (sweet friends and relatives who've done this work, notwithstanding).
  
  Social Networking is still so primitive that we have not yet developed a way to "truly" recognize truth. For example, there is a truth that can be sussed out in early photographs - a tacit personal revelation that unfolds only through long hours of sitting in a pose. Yet another type of personal reality pops up readily in a spur of the moment Polaroid snapshot.
  
  Let's find the truth in those new autobiographies and personas that can be stretched and pulled into any shape desired with just a few clicks. Certainly your own web writing shines a light on that - business or pleasure. And always a pleasure.
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  ophelia_chong

  9 months ago

  Great observations. True we have all been burned by real life connections, we start off with the highest of hopes and optimism. Yet some relationships end in turmoil and regret. I guess we see what we want to "see" when we enter these relationships, and eventually the blinders come off. And we see the truth in it's beauty and disgrace.
  
  As for human contact I enjoy it, but being a social butterfly with a short attention span, I enjoy contact, but I also enjoy the silence of a quiet studio.
  
  We are in an age where we are making the rules as we go along, it is a new world. We have no guidebook. It's an exciting time to be in.
  
  Thanks for commenting. :O) xoxo
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  hawaii homes

  9 months ago

  The new generation of youngster have never know this, so like it or not, that’s how business will continue to be conducted, not only here, but all over the world. It’s here to stay, so get used to it.
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  ophelia_chong

  9 months ago

  Humans evolve to suit their surroundings, we change our surroundings to suit us. Yes, the internet is here to stay and the conducting of business is changing, however as a community we must not forget how important it is to be socialize with humans offline. Am I more prone to support someone I never met? Or someone I have an offline relationship with? Probably the latter. The online relationships I have made, I put a lot of effort into, and except for the actual face to face meeting, those relationships are very solid . What this "new" generation needs to know is that the most solid business contacts are made online and offline and that it is not based on a one sided conversation but the interaction between two people.
  
  And it's not that anyone should "get used to it", it is that to do that, one has to have the social skills beforehand to notice the change.
  
  thanks for commenting. :O)
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  wilson

  9 months ago

  Well, the online or virtual love would not be my style, as I rather preferred the real life handshake or hug here lol
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  ophelia_chong

  9 months ago

  Online and virtual love is a one way street. And then it ends in a cul-de-sac. Unless you make the jump to real life and meet. Then it's a whole new set of rules, you sit across from that person and now you have to make eye contact and hold a conversation. There is no "BRB" in real life.
  
  Thanks for commenting. :O)
  reply