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Net A Pal Online - Times of India (June 13, 99) |
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!
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