M12s last blog post..V-ko @ K – Ebullient Future

Anyways, it’s but normal for people to seek ‘companions’, and in the case of otakus, one of the easiest ways to meet fellow fans is through the interwebz. Not to say that the internet directly affects how you communicate IRL, it just provides you with some sort of shortcut to socializing with people having the same interests as yours. In the end, just like our anime hobby, socializing on the internet is but one tiny portion of our lives, and we’d have to face Real Life people whether we like it or not. Now I don’t know if it’s got anything to do with the people I talk to online, but I found it rewarding to my RL conversations in general.

usagijens last blog post..2008/2009 Winter Anime Menu

@ Nazarielle: That’s a good point you make, actually. Something similar happened to me in elementary school, where all of my friends were into video games and anime and all that, and I never really needed to talk to anyone else. Then when you get tossed into a group project with people who talk about sports and rap music, it’s hard to get your thoughts together and actually talk to them. It’s just that this scenario feels worse to people because we’re effectively talking to a bunch of usernames.

@ Panther: Indeed, saying that the internet is bad is like saying that guns or robots are bad (stupid example, I know). A tool is a tool either way, and it’s up to you to decide whether you want to spend your life lurking on /b/ or communicating with your peers on a form of media that you enjoy.

@ M12: I’m definitely counting on that, and I’m hoping you’re right. I doubt I could have handled something like blogging a few years ago, what with the potential for both anonymous praise and harsh criticism, but I’m fine with it now, and I hope that the same will happen as I grow older.

@ GNdynames: I also believe that socializing online can wind up helping your in real life, especially when you’re a naturally quiet person; it’s a good way to get to “talk” to people without having all of the pressures of a real-life conversation. Yamazaki should have just downloaded MSN for Sato instead of turning him into a lolicon. …Then again, a lot of solutions would have been better than that >_>

@ M12 (again): Finally, someone who acknowledges that age makes a difference! The ’sphere is comprised mainly of university students, whom, from what I’ve seen, don’t have as many pressures when it comes to socializing. High school really can becomes difficult, especially when hardly anyone shares your hobbies. When you’re an adult, I hope and assume that you can meet like-minded people and talk about what you want without having to worry about the cluster of basketball players in front of the school or the cluster of anime club members watching Inuyasha in the basement.

@ ghostlightning: Actually, that’s not a bad idea. A couple of the conversations I had IRL within the last month or so actually did give me ideas for new posts that I probably wouldn’t have gotten otherwise. And with the same people reading the same thoughts over and over again, it’s only a matter of time before we’re unable to think of anything new by ourselves.

@ Blowfish: Don’t worry, it’s all relevant anyhow :P
Like Panther said, technology can be as much of a blessing as a curse, and it really is up to how you choose to use it. Also, I recall my parents mentioning something to me a few years ago about how it’s good to have a few close friends rather than a class full of acquaintances, and while I could hardly understand it at the time, it’s starting to make a lot more sense now. Some people need to know everyone, and that’s fine, but there’s nothing wrong with having only a couple good friends either. Like I said, I hardly talk to anyone at school, but the people I do talk to always provide interesting conversations, sometimes even entering the topic of anime and giving me ideas for posts!

Im not the person with the greatest social skills either.Is there really a need for meaningless smalltalk or faking empathy? In my opinion there is no need for that.If someone cant feel good with a vast number of “friends” im alright with that.Whatever floats your boat.I prefer to know that i can count on those few people i care about and that i really know them.That also means that hurtful words must be sometimes spoken.
That makes me look like a weird, cold person for bystanders but if those judge by first looks that much i dont feel the urge to know them better

I must also mention Panthers effort for closing the gap between bloggers around the globe with TeamBlue.He proactively encourages the members to communicate and know them better.

I think i strayed a bit away from the maintopic ^^

Blowfishs last blog post..What!?! (NSFW)

Just 2 days ago I attended a family reunion. Migration and expatriation decimated our numbers. So of the 4 cousins left here in the Philippines, 2 of them are my brothers orz.

My cousin, however is an otaku (yay) so I ended up talking to him for the most part. However,

>>Why bother scouring your school for the most diligent fans when you’re already connected to some of leaders of the community?

My conversation with my cousin merely revolved on identifying what we’re currently watching, and recommending shows to each other. Online I could have more substantial conversations with really interesting people.

Over the course of the lunch (about 90 minutes), I probably checked twitter at least thrice from my mobile phone.

Then again, I think that this interface with the off-line world will provide interesting material for online interactions. At some point, all of us in the community will be reading a lot of the same things, the news will be less exciting to talk about because of the saturation rate (ever increasing). Everyone can read each other’s tweets, etc. Life will provide I think.

I hung out with three other anime fans the other day. We talked for hours, so yeah :).

M12s last blog post..Bootleg Busters – Coming soon

However, as far as commuting goes, internet is at least more convenient. I’m not just talking between classmates. I myself use MSN to talk to my parents when I’m at university, which is a three hour drive from my house. In that case I’d rather not be buying phone cards every other week for the same purpose.

Well, ultimately it does come down to oneself. When not in the library, I’d enjoy a nice chat with someone anyday. Granted, I could write up an essay on someting like how nerutransmitters work over msn in a few minutes and that’d probably be more than enough info for when someone inquires. But hey, it does develop social skills that I dare say most of what we call otakus dearly lack.

Hey, wait until you see the next VJutsu video. That’s socializing right there. You’ll see! It’s the same thing with the audio episodes we’ve been recording. Hopefully you’ve heard them. Sure, it’s just Skype. But hey, at least it’s more than just typing, right? That’s what VJutsu aims to do. Feel free to come chat with us sometime!

M12s last blog post..Bootleg Busters – Coming soon