Comments on: Porches, Greek Porticos, Refrigerator Rights & Social Media

By: Scott Gould

Scott Gould — Sat, 08 May 2010 07:40:56 +0000

Someone on my blog made an addition to this:

if you get the refrigerator RIGHTS, you also get the refrigerator RESPONSIBILITIES

In other words, you’ve also got to help do the cleaning

By: Jeff Hurt

Jeff Hurt — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 18:14:18 +0000

@VelChain
What a great analogy and picture, passing the “Rooney sniff test,” before gaining Fridge Rights. Beautiful. Thanks for sharing that one.

By: Dave Lutz

Dave Lutz — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 17:59:40 +0000

Jeff, I love posts that have cool analogies!

I’ve got a backyard kind of house. That’s where we love to hang. In my hood, there’s one more filter to think about…that’s my dog, Rooney. You see Rooney is real protective (especially of my wife and Kids) and he can look pretty darn ferocious. When he first sees ya, he’s going to bark like crazy. If that doesn’t scare you off, he’s going to check you out very carefully. If you make it through those first few minutes, you’re OK for fridge rights.

That kind of reminds me of people I meet online. Before I engage or really trust them, I’m going to do some sniffing around. That may include digging into them on the net and finding out what kind of Google juice they got. It may also mean picking the brain of someone that I trust that is a mutual connection.

So for us, before giving you Fridge rights, you got to pass “Rooney’s sniff test.”

Dave Lutz – @velchain

By: Jeff Hurt

Jeff Hurt — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 23:17:45 +0000

@Serenity
Thanks for the comment. I love the idea of having those true trusted friends already waiting for me to arrive home with the refrigerator stocked. I think you just found a fantastic analogy for what Chris Brogran calls “Trust Agents.” Very cool!

By: Serenity J. Knutson

Serenity J. Knutson — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 17:55:24 +0000

Jeff, I love the analogies. Like Cynthia, I’m also a Midwesterner who prefers another step or two between porch and fridge… at least a beer on my couch in front of the Sunday football game before refrigerator rights are granted!

Of course, the VERY special friends are likely to be already waiting in my living room for me to get home, having already gone ahead and stocked my fridge with their snacks and beverages of choice. Would those be the VERY special social media friends who are trusted to moderate one’s forums or (for some) help with the company updates while one is away?

By: Jeff Hurt

Jeff Hurt — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 14:35:27 +0000

@Rachel
Oh yes, we’ve all had kids that just barge in and help themselves. IMO, there is something attractive about that child-like or teen innocence, trust and ignorance of society’s norms. Now, when we have a nosy neighbor like Bewitched’s Gladys Kravitz, that just barges in, that can be unnerving.

The uninvited neighbor that has no self-awareness can often be like the social media spammers that highjack Twitter hashtags, spam us with self-promotional email and general make our lives miserable. Kids, I’m more tolerant of their behavior. Nosy neighbors with ill intentions—that’s different.

By: Jeff Hurt

Jeff Hurt — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 14:29:24 +0000

@Debra – Thanks for starting this discussion of social media and relationships. I really liked your analogy of front and back yard relationships.

@Cynthia I love your sense of humor! You always make me smile – “…but sorry, you don’t get to see my science experiments yet!” Yes, if you get invited through my front door, you get to see all my science experiments, not just those in the refrigerator. I grew up in southwest VA and my parents always welcomed everyone through the front door as a trusted member of the family.

The great thing about social media and relationships is that everyone can engage in building those relationships at their preferred pace and style.

By: Rachel Happe

Rachel Happe — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 13:51:34 +0000

I’ve know about but have never heard the term ‘refrigerator rights’ but love it! This got me thinking about those neighborhood kids… maybe friends of your kids… who don’t bother with the formalities and barge right in and open the refrigerator door. Essentially they are making the assumptive close – assuming that they will be close friends so no need to bother with the chit chat first. We often find those types hard to resist. Not sure where I’m going with that thought but… is there room for the barging in?!?

By: Cynthia D'Amour

Cynthia D'Amour — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 22:49:27 +0000

Jeff, do you go all the way from front porch to refrigerator rights in one sweep? Here in the Midwest, we tend to have one more step between the porch and the frig.

In social media it would be that first cup of coffee, meal, meet up etc. If we connect as well in person as online, then you might be eligible to access that frig.

If we don’t connect as expected, it was an interesting hour. And we are richer for the experience – but sorry, you don’t get to see my science experiments yet!

By: Debra Askanase

Debra Askanase — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 21:06:10 +0000

Jeff – I forgot all about “refrigerator rights!” Great call – they’re the ones you think of almost as family. It’s been interesting to see how “families” have evolved on social media platforms as well; the ones who have each other’s backs by pointing out interesting stories or introducing people to each other, or who give “shout outs,” or RT blog posts. These folks have migrated to my back door and many have refrigerator rights. The virtual families.

Thanks for the big compliment by linking to and extending my original post in new and different ways!