Connected

While working on several stories/novels/books, I've been thinking a lot about what it means to be "connected." There are so many opportunities on the internet to reach out, get in touch, join, friend, like, and expand my circles that I'm a little confused about what, exactly, all of it means and what, exactly, I am hoping to accomplish as I throw myself open and out there in the public domain.

I am not a social person by nature. I have never been a joiner of cliques or clubs or groups even if I share a common interest. My friends list on Facebook is growing, and I love the friends I have, but I am not one to chat and share and poke on a whim. I sometimes wish I could throw myself with reckless abandon into the lives of the people around me but I can't and I don't and I won't. Even my status updates are considered at length so writing a blog, although fun, offers yet another moment to ponder whether or not what I write adds to or detracts from the human experience in general and on the internet or if it's just more noise.

I like to write, writing brings me joy, and I believe that any offering of joy adds a positive vibration to the world. That's what I look for in my quest to be "connected" to the world of Facebook and Linked-In, and Google+, as well as to the universe at large: a positive vibration of joy. I may not comment and respond and add my two cents to every conversation or discussion, but I read and participate in my own small way, through the feelings of joy that come with being a part of something bigger, something meaningful, and something positive. And then I write about it.

What does being connected mean to you? I'd really like to know.