Friendships in SL

This week I spent many evenings sitting around the campfire on the blogger cafe roof with my new SL friends. There has been a lot of discussion about SL friendships. Many are questioning whether these are true friendships. I've read the various blogs and comments. IMHO I am developing friendships with educators I meet in SL just as I develop friendships with others I meet in workshops, classes, work, organizations, my neighborhood or anywhere else I meet people.

As a child, I met a girl while on vacation at a resort in Wisconsin. She was from a suburb of Michigan and I lived in Chicago. We exchanged addresses, and began a penpal friendship. I was twelve years old, she was thirteen years old. We exchanged letters and cards by regular mail. Sometimes there were weeks or months before a letter arrived in my mailbox. The next year, her family returned to the same resort, but my family did not. Instead since it was on the way, my parents took me to meet her at the tollway oasis so we could see each other in person. We continued to exchange letters and a few phone calls here and there over several years. We never vacationed again at the resort at the same time, but my parents took me up to the resort for a day to see my penpal friend one of the summers when she was there with her family. As we became older and shared more history only in letters and phone calls for the most part, we developed a very close friendship. I was allowed to fly to her home for her Sweet Sixteen party. She came to mine. We visited each other at our colleges. We shared the secrets that girl friends share about life and love, hopes and dreams. She was a bridesmaid at my wedding. We have traveled back and forth with our families over the past 40 years, sharing good times and bad times. Letters became emails, then IM's took the place of phone calls. Our children now are on each other's Facebooks and keep in touch as well and think of each other like cousins. She is someone I know I can count on and consider one of my best friends. Someone who started out as just a penpal.

I tell this story because I think of the people I meet in SL no different than any other people I meet or have met in various life experiences. Common interests and sharing of oneself leads to friendships. Some of the people I'm meeting I feel are becoming my good friends. Yes, many will remain just colleagues or acquaintances, but the collaboration and learning I am experiencing is invaluable to me. Who knows though - I might have met another new friend for rest of my life.