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My original blog - I have moved to http://shannonclark.wordpress.com so this remains only as an archive.
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Searching for the Moon
by Shannon Clark
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Saturday, December 11, 2004
What is a the Web equivelant of a club?
Last night, for the first time in a very long time, Julia and I went out to a club here in Chicago. A friend of mine had invited us to the Chicago premiere of an independent film she had been the assistant director on and after the screening there was an afterparty a local club here in Chicago.
We left relatively early, around 11:45pm before the second DJ went on, driven out by the smokiness which bothered us, but as I thought about the club last night I wondered what the web equivelant was.
At the club last night (Dark Room here in Chicago) we sat at a table with my friend who was born in India but now an American citizen and her husband who is German. One of the actors in the film stopped by, he's from Zaire. His friend stopped by as well, he is from Malawi. Throughout the club people were clearly of all races and ethnic orgins. Dancing together, sitting together, flirting with each other. Relaxing and enjoying great djs and large, inviting space. Ages ranged from 20s to late 30's (perhaps even a few people who were in their 40's).
Where is such interaction, across races, religions, cultures, and borders occurring online? Where do people mix to talk politics, art, and work but also to pick up each other, to flirt, to relax with friends?
Online, many forums while open in theory to anyone, quickly become groupings of like minds, like passions. Some which are across all borders, but many which replicate borders in a virtual space. Where are there spaces that are connected by some common threads perhaps (great pulsating music and drinks) while remaining open and accomodating to great diversity to casual, friendly, non-judgemental interactions?
I am encouraged that Chicago has a club like Dark Room. Many other clubs which I have been to, though admittedly it has been a while as I have not been out clubbing much for the past 5+ years, have been much more narrowly targeted to a very specific crowd - rarely very diverse racially. Perhaps I just had been going to the wrong clubs.
12/11/2004 10:05:00 AM
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