I don’t get “cruising”.
I live in the middle of a city, near a lot of bars and clubs. Every weekend, those bars and clubs are full of people drinking, dancing, and listening to music. I get that. I do that.
What I don’t get is why, every weekend, the city streets are clogged by drivers who circle the block like extras from the set of The Truman Show. Literally hundreds of drivers (+crew) spend all night cruising (slowly and loudly), cat-calling and, singing off-key in my neighborhood.
Cruising makes no sense to me. First off, it’s a financial waste. Given the cost of gas, it would be cheaper to park and walk around. Second, it’s like fishing without bait. Not once in five years have I seen a woman respond to a car full of cruisers by saying: “What? You think I have a fat booty? Aren’t you sweet? Can my girls and I hop in your Grand Am?”
Last weekend, while the cruising line was preventing me from reaching my parking garage, I realized something - The way I feel about cruising is similar to the frustrations baby boomers have with social networking.
Consider the similarities:
1. In both cases, more traffic beats less traffic
2. Both involve the sharing of seemingly meaningless life details (such as what you are doing, listening to, thinking at that moment, etc.) with crowds of people.
3. More often than not the communication is one-way. More of an announcement than a meaningful conversation.
That said, there are several glaring differences between the two pursuits:
1. Social networking can lead to new business/professional opportunities (legal ones)
2. Social networking is an efficient way to stay connected with a large group of friends, family, and colleagues (past and present).
3. Unlike cruising, social networking has an “ignore” option.
Bottom Line: social networking is only like cruising if people fail to take the time to learn how to do it correctly.
My prediction of the month – The Beatles version of Rock Band will be the gateway drug that gets Boomers hooked on new media.
