How to Work the Virtual Room
Posted on April 24th, 2008 by admin
The chit-chat about chat rooms has exploded since 1995. We now have several generations of people whose virtual socializing, conversing and networking has exceeded their real time they spend on each activity. With that, we have lost a lot of our personal touch.
The online world not only gives us a new type of room to work, we also get thousands of possible “rooms” in which to chat about anything, anywhere, anytime. It’s a loom without the boundaries of walls or time, yet there are rules and boundaries of better behavior to be observed.
There are myriad stories of people finding long-lost relatives, friends, even romance (one of my friends married to her friend from a chat room!); of seniors whose frailties keep them homebound, of those who stay in touch with a grandchild or find a community online, of those suffering from similar symptoms, or those who find an online support group or are just pals. For the record, the largest-growing segment of the online world is senior citizens. Chat rooms can and do create a community virtual one.
There are also stories of the dangers of meeting “online friends.” Exercising caution is important. A chat room is a subject or an interest-based “room” and can vary in size (numbers of visitors) from moment to moment. When someone enters, their entry is heralded by a notice/greeting. Sometimes individuals will greet you, other times not. It is best to observe the con- versation before jumping into a monologue on your favorite subject.