Have been invited by Nellie Deutsch to take part in Connecting Online 2009 – I just love this kind of initiatives, so how could I refuse it? You know me… I have just posted on our Ning site a small reflection about what Connecting means to me. I am also sharing it here, in case you still haven’t joined the network.

I look forward to your comments, and hopefully will also be able to greet you there. I sure would like to hear all about your conecting expereinces in the upcoming online event. Make sure to submit your proposal! ;-)

Connecting is important. It has always been important …since ever. People have always felt this urge to feel part of something bigger, to feel they belong to this or that, to feel they are not alone in this world. Isn’t that connecting? Hasn’t it always been?
These days connecting is especially associate with the internet and this virtual system which enables us to reach out to people from the other side of the globe in the twinkle of an eye. Connecting has become faster, and our connection scope wider. This doesn’t mean connecting has changed dramatically (or maybe it has…?); it only means the way through which we can today connect has improved and offered different ways to bring people together.

In this sense, when I think about connecting I am not only implying the use of the Internet and different tools available on the web, but, actually and above all, the opportunities which make interaction among people, the sharing of ideas and the flowing of information possible; in other words true communication!! Meeting people who otherwise we probably wouldn’t; sharing our perspectives and experiences, questions and ideas, in a way we feel we are being heard and are worthy of feedback and support; accessing resources; collaborating and cooperating in projects; developing know-how together…. This is in my opinion what adds true value to this kind of environments and online connectivity and stimulates one’s active participation.
So, for me, connecting is much more than having a plug, or a computer that can “transport” us to these cyber-spaces. Connecting is about transforming such virtual spaces in real, meaningful and cosy environments where we feel at ease to bond with people. Humankind has always felt the need to work together. We all need peer support. We all want to be reassured by our “neighbors”. [ imagine those less populated villages in the interior of the country - they usually survive until the two last families hold in there ].
We are no islands and together we operate better. Feeling the presence of others next to us enables us to achieve our goals and most times exceed what we thought to me our limits. It gives us confidence. When others trust in us, we implicitly make a bigger effort to be worthy of that trust, and most times end up doing things we never thought we would.
That is the true value of connecting online.  In my still short online activity I have been able to connect to many people with whom I have truly connected in mind and purpose – we help each other think and reflect about what concerns us by networking, i.e., sharing and providing relevant thoughts and sources of information with one another.
That’s what I call achieving real and meaningful communication, even if through virtual means (=web). That’s the power of today’s technology – it has become an enabler of human interaction, surpassing the barriers of time and space, and adding that human touch which many times the busy, busy on-site life is lacking, and which we all complain about [“ people are busy. we all lead busy lives. We don’t even have time to visit our next door neighbor. Our working hours don’t match either. We have grown to live isolated in our own neighborhoods...”]  Face to face life has indeed become faster and probably more comfortable where materialist issues are concerned, but that has not always been adding quality to the human relationships. And I truly think that is where the power of connecting online resides these days.
Online, we are able to connect to people who are also searching for that support. And as online interaction relies of a virtual presence which has to be enacted to be acknowledged, we do become more active in showing we care about others, about what they want to achieve and we also become more available to them as they also make themselves more available to help us. It is all down to this chain reaction attitude, where people are pre-disposed to help and learn with and from others, because the time and space barriers are not there, and especially because the willing to be part of such a group/community/network that sends out this feeling of cosiness is.
And that is what I feel CO09 is all about : connecting with feeling and adding value to each others’ learning experiences. I think it is case to say : I connect, therefore I learn (and develop who I am and what I do).

I am really looking forward to connecting to you all.
I look forward to your comments, ideas and presentations.