Do lower degrees of separation in our online lives translate to anything truly useful in the offline world?
The short answer, not really. A recent article showed how Facebook users are now on average separated by about 4-5 other friends. Lower than the standard 6 degrees for most of the population. That's a worthwhile feat for a social media site dedicated to connecting you with family and friends, but the truth is that arriving at this number hasn't really translated into a hugely positive reaction in the real-world.
Online polls from CNN have shown a near even split between people who say they feel more connected to the world because of social media and those who feel the same or even less. Why is this?
Social media has done a great job with connecting us online to people we know but unfortunately not enough focus is placed in connecting us with people we don't know, but should know, and creating a way to bring more value to those offline connections. Surely, the most valuable asset of social media should be creating and facilitating a way to connect us offline as well. Isn't that where the world's real relationships take place?
Truth is that only a very small percentage of people actually use social media to engage in valuable offline activity. If we're going to preach about Facebook's ability to shrink our degrees of separation it better translate to something much more than the friend of my friend knowing the friend of your friend.
How can we translate online degrees of separation into useful offline initiatives to build valuable long-lasting relationships and help solve real world issues?