To start: Interaction design is about enabling people to connect with themselves and others through time and space

I think i said once that interaction design is about connecting people to each other and themselves. So, yes!

|It solves a few problems, it takes us out of this virutal/cyberspace metaphors. We are not inside the machine, but all surrounding the machine that connects us to ourselves and the past.

It creates some new ones though, what about photoshop.com or google docs, if you edit a photo or write a letter are you creating communication with other people or your (future) self?

I think things like that only serve to connect us as a design community, as it is only inclusive from the perspective of humanity and craft. But in reality, these perspectives provide mere inpiration points for our work, as we typically only design across touchpoints which are but a small footprint across an entire fabric of human experience.

also - I've just had a pint of strong ale.