Love and learn through ICT

I met Charo on a flight to Madrid. By chance, ICT got both of us on the same flight, seating one next to the other, but for different reasons. I was heading to an ICT Conference in Seville, Spain, and Charo, well, let me tell you about her amazing story.
Charo, like many women nowadays, was very successful in her career, but not so lucky on the love field. Over 40, never married and still hoping for love to happen, she signed up on one of those “dating sites” on the advice of her cousin. To her surprise, through the dating service she found someone great, Robbie.
Robbie was an Argentinian living in Turin, Italy, who like Charo, successful but lonely, was seeking true love.
They started a relationship or, should I say, a virtual relationship. Anyway, they connected in a way that something grew between them. See, I don’t know much, but I know love, powerful and marvelous love, powerful enough to get Charo on a plane to meet Robbie in person -nice, yes, but yet a complete stranger- putting herself in a vulnerable and risky position.
On CCK11’s week 9, Stephen Downes posted: “Learning is an act of vulnerability”. How true. Learning implies the realization that we need to learn because, guess what, we don’t know everything, no one is self-sufficient, we need others. Pretty much as in loving. We are in need of both, love and knowledge, and that makes us vulnerable.
After five hours of conversation on that plane, Charo and I became friends. We keep in touch.
I assume that you would want to know how her love adventure went. Well, it turned out great. Charo and Robbie are in love with plans of marriage.
ICT are great, great in every way. They are certainly a huge help, they give us access to knowledge, they make our lives easier.
But, when it comes to love, ICT do their job as well, introducing people to us, erasing borders, putting down barriers, we come closer, we become connected.
So, if you ask me about learning or loving through ICT, I’ll say, without a doubt, hands down, by all means… go for it.