One point of comparison between Ellen Ullman and myself is the frequency of our use of e-mail for communication. Ullman uses e-mail to maintain an intimate relationship with someone by constantly sending messages back and forth, while I use e-mail much less frequently and for more formal reasons only. If I am having a conversation with someone on an intimate level or just to chat I will use an instant messaging feature of a communication/social networking tool like Skype or Facebook. This difference is undoubtedly a result of the change in the times between now and when the article was written. When it was written, e-mail was the only way to have such conversations without being in person or using snail mail, and now there are much more efficient ways of doing this.
Another point of comparison between the author and I is the fact that she has two different worlds because of the use of technology. Although I do converse with friends and family over the internet often, it is not awkward later on when I meet them in person. She described her situation with e-mail as a completely different world than her real life, and I do not experience this effect as much. This may be because communication via the internet has become more personal since the article was written, but whatever the reason, I can generally talk to someone in person just as well as I can talk to them online.
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In the context which you use the word comparison, wouldn't it make sense to say "contrast?" Comparison is similarity, not difference. Nonetheless, you make the point that it's not awkward for you to meet family or friends in person when you had previously talked with them over the internet, but how would you feel if you had never met them before? Not in a sense that you meet random people online, but like in my situation, I became Facebook friends with people also going to Michigan. I accepted their friend requests because of that factor and corresponded with them over Facebook and eventually met some of them. It was slightly awkward yet we were both in the same situation.
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