The Social Network

I just updated my iTunes to iTunes 10. Usually, these updates aren't that big of a deal, a little formatting change here or fixing a few bugs there, but when iTunes relaunched I was completely thrown for a loop. There was a new icon, a new color scheme, and newest of all, a social networking site built into iTunes called Ping. This allows people to interact on the iTunes platform. All comments made when reviewing albums will now be tagged with your profile and name if you so choose. You can follow your favorite artists and find out what your friends are listening to. We've been talking in AS about what technology has done for us and how it can aid in our education and life (e.g. this blog), but a part of me wonders if it's all too much. What happened to asking for a mixed cd (or mixed tape for us analog fans) from a friend? Or asking someone "Hey, who are you really into right now?" or searching the liner notes of your favorite bands CD (or record, again for the analog fans among us) to see who their favorite bands are? Why do we have to use the internet?
 I think it sort of handicaps us from making a real connection. Sure you can find people from all over the world who happen to like all the same bands you do in the exact same order and also love the same comic you do, but when push comes to shove how beneficial is that? You have just spent time talking to this person you will probably never meet and who could seriously be ANYBODY when you could have been listening to music with your friends or finding a new band from Pitchfork or even doing your homework. Maybe I'm among the minority who don't find an online life too enticing, but I feel like establishing a real connection with people is more important than finding someone who likes Fall Out Boy as much as you do, or listening to every band Pete Wentz likes. I think that maybe we are so dependent on an online social network that we forget about the one that is most important. But maybe we can find a balance, maybe there is something I'm missing.