Community vs Google.

After more than a decade on the internet, and even more time spent on FidoNet and BBSs prior to that, I feel comfortable saying that I’m aware of the power of the internet. With the invention of the search engine, and the all-powerful-all-seeing-Google, it is easy to find the answer to absolutely any question, to suss out the details of any invention on the face of earth, by simply clicking a few keys with your fingertips. There is absolutely nothing in my realm of thought that isn’t online at this point in some manner. If I wake up after midnight, with a question about the state of the world, I don’t need to pick up the phone and call someone, or make a note to drive to the library the next day. I Google it. Having said that, there is a comfort in getting to know things through the eyes of another, and that is where Google fails.

For example, I recently joined a few knitting communities in order to get to know the nuances of knitting – watching the conversations between the participants is, of course, ultimately no more instructional in some regards than checking a book out of the library. And I do check out those books, and I do surf the various web sites, and I do pick up technique in my knitting classes and SnB gatherings. (As is evident each time I come home from one of these and announce that NEXT I’m going to make mittens or socks or whatever someone else is making that I find REALLY COOL.) My own knitting prowess grows each time I pick up my needles and another ball of yarn, but there are tips and tricks that can be learned through observation and by asking people directly. I am enjoying learning about the various preferred textures in yarn, for example, and the accoutrements that others find invaluable in constructing their projects. What I enjoy most about these groups is the community aspect – a collection of people from endlessly different backgrounds who have a commonality. Obviously, I can google, “how to knit” and “how to knit seed stitch” or “free knitting pattern kitty hat” or whatever I want, and find what I want. But….

Knitting is, in some ways, much like baking where it is wonderful to ask someone’s opinion on a recipe before launching into it. They can warn of any pitfalls or problems, or they can tell you the shortcut in your recipe to save you time or undue effort. When faced with seventeen potential recipes for strawberry jam, I’d prefer to use one that someone else has tried before me, particularly when they are able to explain why they selected that one in particular. It can be hard, when searching through all of the recipe sites online, to identify which are the most flavourful, or which are most colourful or which have more chunks of fruit – especially if you’ve never made jam before. For knitting, it’s nice to know someone else who has done the pattern before you and can tell you not to do X and Y. Or to have someone tell you the end-result differences between pattern A and pattern B.

The phrase, “just Google it”, in my opinion, is only valid in instances where the person Googling is seeking only specific information – not technique or opinion. If I post to a mailing list, and I ask a question, it’s because I am seeking opinions and experiences and things that aren’t cold-hard-fact. I assume that other people do the same – and sometimes I’m incorrect in that. If someone posts a question that I can answer, I do, and I add my experiences and thoughts (and often end up being overly verbose, of course, but that’s just my nature). I just assume the person has already Googled and didn’t find an appropriate response, or that they’re not seeking a long historical essay on the origins of whatever they’re interested in, and are simply looking for some opinions.

But here’s the problem. My assumption that other people initially Google, then ask others, often leads me to leave out the rambling part of a query-email – the part that would read, “I’m looking for X, and I want to know your thoughts on it. I Googled and found [example(s)] and I’m wondering how to select between those and what makes that a better choice than the other and who/what/when/where…” Instead, I’m more likely to type, “I’m looking for X – does anyone have a good example?” I assume that others are on the same page as me in that regard, and that they realize I’m not just asking because I’m too lazy to type five words into the search engine box in the top right side of my Firefox window.

The whole point of joining a mailing list, for me, is the human side – unless it’s a non-participant list (such as a daily quote or a daily nutrition tip, or whatever). I want interaction and I want conversation and discussion and to benefit from others’ experiences and perceptions and ideas. In instances where someone shouts, “Google it”, I realize that someone has misunderstood – or assumed I was “being lazy”. And part of me really wants to shout back, “If we all Googled everything, what the hell point would this list serve, exactly?”

Clearly I am meant to avoid the internet lately.