>From the Associated Press, Nicle Winfield, Jan 24/09: "Pope Benedict XVI... launch[ed] his own YouTube channel [www.youtube.com/vatican.it] ... to broaden [his] audience while also giving the Holy See better control over the papal image online.... Benedict welcome viewers to this 'great family that knows no borders.' "The site .. was launched the same day the pontiff praised as a 'gift to humanty' the benefits of social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace in forging friendships and understanding. "But Benedict also warned that virtual socializing had its risks, saying that 'obsessive' online networking could isolate people from real social interaction and broaden the digital divide by further marginalizing people." /end story So, all of you folks reading this email on your iBerry while at Church, put it away now!! Happy Chinese New Year to All, Barry Wellman _______________________________________________________________________ S.D. Clark Professor of Sociology, FRSC NetLab Director Department of Sociology University of Toronto 725 Spadina Avenue, Room 388 Toronto Canada M5S 2J4 http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/~wellman fax:+1-416-978-3963 Updating history: http://chass.utoronto.ca/oldnew/cybertimes.php _______________________________________________________________________