Joyfully reconnecting. This is what social web did to people 10 years ago, long before trolls and fake news thrive in the virtual world.
I was checking the way back machine with the hope of salvaging some of my “lost” old posts. I was lucky to unearth an old convo from a post about Manila circa ’70.
Commenter 1 on July 11, 2007
do you have old pictures of the BROWN DERBY restaurant which was located on Taft avenue in Manila near PGH? i was still a small boy when my dads’ family used to run the place.and i don’t have pictures to show my children that their grandfather was the owner of that place….
Reply by ASKSonnie on July 14, 2007
I’m Sorry I can’t help, though am from Manila, I can not recall that restaurant either. Best Regards
Reply by Commenter 2 on August 1, 2008
Hi ***, you must be my Tito then? whose side of the *** clan are you from please? I’m a grand daughter of ***.
Reply by Commenter 1 on March 4, 2009
yes my father was *** who is brother to ***, tita ***, tita ***, tita ***. who might be your mama? ***, *** or *** ? or are you the daughter of *** ? if ever you might see this blog again could you say hello to your cuties. Tell them that Tito *** is here in Scotland.
Thank you… to Sonnie thank you very much for your kind help. every time i visit this page it reminds me of my childhood seeing all those old pictures makes me teary eyed.
After I received the last comment, I emailed them both so they can touch base directly. And the last communication I received from them (2009), the two families are now in touch, catching up and joyfully reconnecting.
This is the 2nd instance where this blog became an instrument in joyfully reconnecting families, the first one though is too private as it involves a father and a son out of wedlock. The father is not aware he has a son from an old sweetheart. The son left a private message after reading a post from this blog and asked if I know his dad. He also requested to pass his contact details, just in case . I do not know the father neither the son. It just happened that his dad is an employee of my former company. I checked with a colleague if such an employee exist and it turned out to be positive, we passed the message and let the dad met with his son.
Blogs and social media is a neutral but powerful tool. In the midst of negativity, spun stories, fake news and trolls, let’s go back to the early beginnings of blogging and social media and remember the pure joy and happiness it brought to our lives.
Founder of LODI Inc. (Learning and Organization Development Institute, Inc.) and Co-Founder of Blogwatch. Mentor and Dad of 2 Gen Z Professionals.
Advocate of #HRinHR (Human Rights in Human Resources) and #DigitalCitizenship
Strategist for Talent, Culture & Content Development, and Cyber Wellness Initiatives
Keynoter and Facilitator of Workplace and Life Learning
Blogging since 2004.
Such a beautiful story to read again and again. It touches my heart so much that your blog has become an instrument to reconnect long lost relatives. How I wish I could read more like this. It truly puts a smile on one’s lips.
I can still remember how the new blog I created way back in 2007 connected me to a soldier’s mom from the US when my then boyfriend died in a vehicular accident. We still get in touch now actually. Like you, I wish we can all go back to when only a select few have access to the internet. Suffice it to say, I am opposed the Free FB service because some people on rely on the titles of the stories/news and make conclusions from such phrases and it’s sad that news outfits actually use that to their advantage. Sad… Read more »
This is the sad part of social media, bad people used it for their advantage, mainly for money. They are ready to spread lies as long as the price is right…
Those are great stories! I love how they came about out your blog posts. I don’t fully understand “old” posts? Did you have a blog where you posted about vintage Filipino things and places? That is pretty cool. I wonder if these things are still going on in other blogs?
I wish we can go back to how social media is back then. Social media and blogs are very powerful if done right. I still can’t comprehend why people would become trolls and spread fake news when it doesn’t do aything but harm others. BTw, this story is very nice. connecting people in a very techy way possible. 🙂
I agree with you. And also, in this new generation, internet is of greatest and powerful reconecting with our lost loved ones or people we wanted to connect with, regardless if they are active online or not, there has so many ways to reconnect by the power of the internet or from the social medias.
Wow very impressive that your blog is able to connect families! The second story is very touching.
I once got a comment saying she was the grand daughter of a palace in ruins in my country. She was sad to see the state of the palace.
This is really how people before used the internet. To really connect with long lost friends, relatives or help them connect with the people that they are looking for. It’s just sad that others use it with malicious intent and sometimes it just eventually causes harm to others.
What an amazing story! It is incredible how people can use the internet to reconnect. My mother passed away years ago, but I can connect with some of her friends on Facebook. Or I can connect with childhood friends. It’s good to stay in touch.
Wow, that was really wonderful! It’s true, nowadays, there’s a lot of unreliable resources online already. Back in 2007, I don’t think I have any blog already (maybe Friendster a year after). Thanks for the encouragement, it’s a great reminder for all bloggers like me (or should I say, us).
That is so touching! Its things like these that keep us bloggers, going and keep on blogging. I’m so glad!!! Sometimes, some emails from my readers totally make my day!