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How to Build Real Connections in a Real Digital World

From AOL to Blogs: How I found my people (and how you can too).

Kel Rakowski's avatar
Kel Rakowski
Jan 22, 2025
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The First Connection

The first time I realized the internet could be more than just a tool—a place where real people were waiting to talk at all hours of the day and night—was in 1995, standing in the kitchen of my Spanish teacher’s house in Clinton, NY. Her son, lanky with Eddie Vedder hair, introduced me to AOL, specifically, the chatrooms. I’ll never …

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