When Strangers Click
Years ago I met Marc Weiss in my daughters Emily’s class. He was the father of one of Emily’s best friends. We started to talk about the Internet industry. What Marc was interested in was using the web as a platform to create discussions around social issues to create change and awareness. He had created an organization called Weblab. I was intrigued and joined his board. He started this movement years before as the Executve Director of P.O.V. (Point of View) showcasing independent documentaries mostly dedicated towards social issues of the time. Marc is dedicated to bring issues to the surface in a unique balanced way. There is not only a need for people like Marc but his passion is something that you can’t help but be impressed by.
After a few years I got off the board for a variety of reasons but have kept in touch over the years. I recently bumped into Marc and he told me about two projects he was working on. One called Gun Stories. Certainly guns is a very controversial topic in our country. Marc wants to hear both sides of the story. He even became a card carrying NRA member to understand the mentality of a world that he him himself doesn’t necessarily believe in. Typical of Marc, dedicated to see and understand both sides of the issues regardless of his own feelings.
The other project was called When Strangers Click. When Strangers Click aired on HBO in February. The show highlighted 5 relationships who met on the Internet. Who knew that 22% of couples who met last year met online. That is pretty amazing. I remember when online dating started to happen. It was and is an incredible phenomena.
So this past weekend we watched When Strangers Click. It is a really poignant piece of our times. How people can find another person who is not necessarily located in their local community. Through conversation online one can find a personal connection that they are looking for. I really enjoyed the film. If you get a chance, download it and watch. FYI – When Strangers Click has been nominated for an Emmy based on the fact that the stories were gathered online. Very cool. The trailer is below.
Comments (Archived):
I’m a fan of meeting online. It’s where I met Paraguay.Folks used to be embarrassed by it (I think) not so much anymore. I never was. I really love what HowAboutWe.com is doing for couples extending the usefulness of the site “after” you’ve found your match. Smart.
“Folks used to be embarrassed by it”True I definitely remember that.
I met my wife on bolt.com in 1998. She was working for Concrete Media who owned the site. I was doing a classifieds startup 10,000 miles away. Heady times.
i love it.
My husband of 30 years reconnected with an old friend from his childhood when they both posted comments on a mutual friends Facebook page. They planned a trip and met in person a few months later in his old home town and fell madly in love. Granted we haven’t been very happy for a while and were probably leading to separation anyway. Now we are living together in this half life while we fix up the house to sell so we can afford to go our separate ways.
I met my wife on jdate. Online dating is phenomenal if done correctly. (I also had two long term relationships with other woman that I met on jdate).