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Comments
05.13.09
I totally agree with you on the point that Gmail is head and shoulders above all other email clients. Google's web app platform and the seamlessness that they interact with each other also trumps the rest(see googledocs and calander).
However, I have to disagree w/ you on the invisible notion. While, I do not go invisible at all on GChat, I can see why other's do, as I do converse with many invisible friends. Most of the people that are invisble do so b/c they have work people on their GChat list that they are trying to avoid. They want to avoid them b/c they do not want work people to contact them at the moment. It is almost make yourself TOO accessible to work people to allow them to dump something on you. That is the main reason most people I know go invisible. I can see why you say it is a selfish protrayal of themselves, but I would not go as far as saying it reflects on their personality.
I love the piece b/c it analyzes the simple things in our lives that continue to make it simple. Too many people fail to recognize how these things have shaped our lives. Keep on keepin on.
05.13.09
Doctor S,
I'm intrigued by these professional contacts that one may have in his/her GChat.
Firstly, my e-mail is probably the one area of internet technology where I am able to completely separate my colleagues and my friends. My colleagues e-mail me through the address provided by our firm and my friends use my GMail address. How does it happen that others have their colleagues mixed in with their friends on GChat?
Secondly, why not just block the work contacts and continue to be visible for friends? Again, if colleagues need information, they can e-mail or use another form of communication. For something a little less harsh, why not change the status to "busy"? This gives EVERYONE a heads up that contacting you at the moment isn't such a great idea, but if someone has an urgent request or need to contact you, they are able to do so.
Either way, thanks for your perspective and comment. :)
- Julie
05.13.09
"Most of the people that are invisble do so b/c they have work people on their GChat list that they are trying to avoid. They want to avoid them b/c they do not want work people to contact them at the moment. It is almost make yourself TOO accessible to work people to allow them to dump something on you."
This is EXACTLY why I set my gchat on invisible, and I'm sure its why most people do as well. I like talking to my friends and I'm not trying to hide from them. But I do have a lot of professional contacts on my gchat list and so do lots of people, and I just can't be accessible to everyone 24/7; sometimes you need to focus on other things. I completely agree with Dr. S. And you can't block people, because lots of people don't separate their work email from their Gmail. There's tons of people who mix the two, and blocking people, I think, is kind of rude.
05.13.09
The only time I'm invisible is when I'm working, though I generally opt to put an away message or something.
I also agree that GChat is head and shoulders above most other chats, but AIM is where most of my contacts from HS, and beyond choose to stay. So I'm stuck. :-\
05.14.09
I definitely don't agree with you, because I put myself on invisible in gchat and many others do too. I don't look down upon others for doing this because sometimes it is just impossible to get work done if you are constantly bombarded with chats. If I am free of course I leave it on but I have to say that there are times where it's impossible to manage your workload if you are online on gchat. I really don't see anything wrong with this.
12.30.09
I would have to disagree for a very similar reason that others have said above. Sometimes there are people online who I would rather not talk to, whether it be a professional colleague or a friend or family member bombarding me for details on something I simply cannot provide while I'm working. As for blocking these people, there are times I *do* want to talk to them, so blocking would be a step too far for me.
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