Rob Paterson tells an inspirational story about the power of the web to connect people. This is the core of what’s important about all the work we’re doing to spread the use of blogs, wikis, social networks, Twitter, and so forth, because these are the tools that enable the kind of awesome connection Rob writes about:

I am nearly 60. Before I ventured into the ‘sphere, I had really stopped making friends as I had at university. New friends were largely situational. We were co workers. Our kids were friends. Neighbours. As I got older it got harder.

This though is like being back at university. There is this huge pool and there is the time to let the friendship grow naturally. We hang out a lot as we did when we were 20.

We most of all wish to live in a village – in a tribe – the web enables us to find the best village and tribe possible as it offers us the choice of the whole world to find the best matches rather than having to make the best of our blood and local pool.

That’s good for both business and personal relationships. If you can find the group of people – regardless of individual locations – that share your interests and want to work with you, that makes your work and life more rewarding and fulfilling.

Here’s what Luis Suarez has to say:

…if you ever have to justify the business value, or just simply the value, from Social Computing, I would strongly suggest you keep forwarding and linking to Rob’s entry, because it is just as good as it gets, regardless what some other people may tell you. It is an essential and indispensable read that shows you the magic of serendipity, some wonderful knowledge discoveries and how we are all somehow connected with one another through smaller villages inside of that major metropolis that the Web is at the moment.

Go read it – I guarantee you’ll feel something powerful in Rob’s words. I did.