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# Face to face
- URL: https://werd.io/face-to-face/
- Published: 2006-11-16T14:46:20.000Z
- Updated: 2025-06-12T11:01:09.000Z
- Author: Ben Werdmuller
- Tags: General, #ben-684a32da145d7d001be71dae, #Migrated-1749693130536, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2025-06-11 21:52

[![Prama House](http://static.flickr.com/102/297961303_5e7cb3554f_m.jpg)](http://www.flickr.com/photos/benwerd/297961303/)

One of the best bits of this new office is the extra collaboration I can have with Dave. Traditionally, for most of the time we've been at separate ends of the country: he in Edinburgh, me in Oxford. But now we're at the other end of a joint desk, if we have a question or an idea to bounce across, the turnaround time has been reduced to nil.

This, quite simply, is why online interactions will never replace face-to-face. I can respond to Dave with a shrug, a facial expression or a half-finished sentence, and he'll instantly know what I mean (most of the time); try doing that in an email or an IM session.

The way I see Elgg working is not as a replacement for face to face interaction, but as a way to encourage more of it. You can find people who share the same interests as you in an institution - but once you've found them, why not talk to them over a coffee? Just because you've discovered someone online doesn't mean your interactions have to *stay* online. Some of the most interesting people I've ever met, I discovered through the Internet because we shared some interests. It's a great catalyst.