Facebook and other crazes

Loads of people I know were banging on about Facebook so I joined. I wasn't prepared to hand over my address book so I have no idea which of my contacts have already joined, apart from the ones I discovered belonged to the same group as me.

What I've noticed is that a few people I genuinely know have asked me to join their friends list and (I presume) vice versa. The first one I wasn't sure about came in a couple of days ago. I wrote a grovelly email to confess that I couldn't think why we knew each other. Turns out we'd exchanged email or commented on each other's blogs or something.

Then  today I had one from someone who's probably well known, and we certainly have contacts in common, but I didn't have any sense of 'knowing' him, electronically or physically. I felt awful because he'd reached out the hand of friendship and I rejected it.

I've already seen what it's like to hang out with unknown fellow travellers in these aggregated blogs. You are indelibly associated with them even if you haven't a clue who they are or what they stand for.

So, with Facebook. I'm going to be resolute and make sure that there's some kind of digital or physical bond. Otherwise, what's the point of having a friend's list? It becomes meaningless.

Other crazes? Moo cards. Easy to lose and hard to read. I guess there's a point to them (making the founders a load of money?), but there's no point sneering at me because I haven't ordered any, I'm impervious to that particular insult.

Comments

[Dennis Howlett]

Moo? David my friend - where is your sense of fun - that's the point of these otherwise pointless wee cards. Oh - and they're a conversation starter.

[Stephen Davies]

"So, with Facebook. I'm going to be resolute and make sure that there's some kind of digital or physical bond. Otherwise, what's the point of having a friend's list? It becomes meaningless."

Couldn't agree more, David. Some people have, as you say, reached out the hand of friendship to me on FB because they're a friend of a friend of a friend. Just thought it was a bit tedious.

Maybe if I met this person while at a party or something, found we got on then yes I would add them. But until then...