Friend 2.0

Friendship has changed, changed utterly: A terrible beauty is born. I’m blaming the amount of interaction many of us are having through the medium of the internet. I’m taking the opportunity to christen this new breed of friend Friend 2.0, in accordance with current iZeitgeist.

The difference between Friend 2.0 and 1.0 is that in all likelihood I’ll never actually physically meet 2.0. There’s an emotional distance from Friend 2.0 which I find engaging, after all friend 1.0 can be messy, uncooperative and downright smelly sometimes, whereas 2.0, meh, you can take or leave without guilt and they’re odour-free.

A friend I interact with on the internet through flickr, alias Okaypro, is the classic embodiment of 2.0-ness. I’ve never met her, in all likelihood probably won’t ever meet her and I’m mostly comfortable with that. However I do admire her images, her accompanying descriptions, humour and her critique so on that level we have a meaningful relationship. Purely aesthetic and utterly detached. And separated by 5255 kilometers. In the world of amateur photography (particularly on flickr), there are thousands of Okaypros out there with opinions to share.

Ah, but you can’t cry on the shoulder of a 2.0. You can’t share a good meal, go the the movies or have a pint with a 2.0. Families are pretty much out of the question. Friend 1.0, despite all his/her shortcomings is a far superior entity altogether and a better kisser to boot. 1.0 has pretty much a proven track record over, well, um, over all recorded history and probably before.

Friend 1.0 rocks.