The first thing I do every morning after my coffee is to pop over to Leisureguy’s blog and see what’s new. There’s always something of interest, often from the late-night before because of the three-hour time difference between our two coasts. The “fresh” stuff doesn’t start rolling in before 10 AM Eastern Time, and I go back to his site several times a day to catch up. I also do this with a few other blog sites, although with less regularity and frequency. It suddenly struck me this morning that blogging has become the new form of what used to be called “civilized” conversation, i.e. an intelligent, polite (mostly), respectful discussion, without interruption. I may comment on some of his posts and return a few hours later to find responses to my comments. Having to write down one’s comments and responses engenders a certain thoughtfulness, often missing from face-to-face conversations. And if you want your comment to actually show up on the other person’s blog, well, you’ve got to make sure that it is reasonably polite and bereft of venom.

Many people rant about how technology has depersonalized the world, with kids mired in video-game unreality, adults speaking aimlessly into the air as they walk and talk into their Bluetooths, while others are zoned out listening to music on their iPods as they cross the street and get hit by the bus. But in my humble opinion, technology has simply reconfigured the way humans interact with each other while creating new ways to do old stuff…you just have to have an open mind and look for the opportunities.