Part of the rationale for Plaxo is a belief that, while the past 10 years of the Internet has made it easier to connect people to information and businesses, the record has been far more mixed when it comes to connecting people to each other.

Ten years ago, Robert Putnam published a paper (and subsequent book) called "Bowling Alone". The central thesis was that there had been a great decline in “social capital” since the 1970’s. Rates of participation in a broad range of civic engagement had all undergone huge declines, from political participation (down 25%), to attendance at PTA meetings (down 61%), to charitable giving (down 20%), to participation in clubs, fraternal and service organizations, etc. (down 58%). Even purely social forms of engagement, such as inviting friends over for dinner (down 45%) or joining bowling leagues (down 70%, hence the title of the book) had declined significantly.

All of this was disturbing, because if people don’t have connections with the other members of their community, they are less likely to be able to band together to deal with problems, be they environmental, educational, social, etc.

Of course, all of this was before the Internet had really taken off. And while the trends discussed above appear to have continued, is it possible that the old ways of building social capital have been replaced with new forms? People now join virtual communities, enabling them to form common cause with people who feel the same way that they do about the rainforest or Howard Dean. Or, they can find people who are dealing with the same medical issues that they are. An organization that I have been involved with for a number of years, Partners for Youth with Disability, has embraced online communities as a way of helping kids with physical disabilities to connect with peers and adult mentors—something that was often difficult to do in the physical world given mobility issues. And, while we may be bowling alone, we are participating in MUDs and online poker tournaments in record numbers.

So, is there still cause for concern? Are people really engaging with each other more because of the Internet? Have the social uses of the Internet substituted for more passive forms of entertainment (are we watching TV less and blogging more?), or has online interaction taken away from time spent with friends, neighbors, and family? A recent report by the Pew Internet & American Life Project seems to take the more positive view of the Internet’s impact on social capital. What do you think? Can service like Plaxo help generate social capital (in addition to the more traditional financial forms of capital)?

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