Socially Networking

Honoring my sacred tradition of being one of the last humans on earth to accept and appreciate newfangled technology, I recently joined the cyber world of Facebook.

I have been avoiding passage into this new frontier for a few reasons:
1. Arrogance. I rather like being different, which may at times include watching the proverbial bandwagon smugly from the sidelines.
2. Time. Maintaining relationships with real friends is difficult enough.
3. Fear. It may surprise you (or maybe not) that there are people out there who are not my friends. I don't mean strangers. I mean the opposite of friends, though the word "enemies" may be a bit strong.

Look, I am an employer. If you have ever had a boss, then you realize that sometimes I have to play that necessary role of the person that people love to hate. It's not my fault. And I feared that a disgruntled employee, or mean person like the one who made a nasty comment on my blog might peep into my private life and laugh. Or worse.

So when, after enjoying some tasty Thai food with a group of girlfriends, the knowlege was bestowed upon me that one's Facebook profile is inaccesible to anyone unless you approve them as your "friend," that fear was eliminated. I'm not sure how I missed that important detail. So when my new BFF Barb (aka Polly Pocket) e-invited me to join the Facebook Elite, I shrugged and clicked the bright blue link.

Getting started was ridiculously easy. The feature which searches your email account for people you already know on Facebook was both frightening and exhilirating. I didn't invite any of them yet, though. I want to get my feet wet first.

And the feet-wetting has been a bit tricky. I consider myself very computer- and internet-savvy. But it is taking a concerted effort to orient myself with the Facebook layout. I am surprised at how cluttered and ill-organized the pages appear. It's probably just a matter of time before it will be second nature to me and I'll wonder how I ever thought that.

I must also admit that I had no clue what actually went on inside the gated Facebook community. I've never been on MySpace either, and always assumed these were simply personalized web pages. Post some photos, write little blogs, display how many "friends" you boast. I was not aware that such an interactive community existed within. Now I can remain abreast of what each friend had for lunch, and where he is taking his dog, and what she found under her couch cushions. And respond appropriately to such breaking news in real time. How did I ever do without this?

Kidding aside, I think it will be fun to stay in more immediate touch (ha, the irony) with nearby friends and maybe reconnect with some old friends (methinks I'll have to be a little more careful about what I write in my flashbacks). And now I can start using the word "friend" as a verb, as in, "You'll never guess who friended me yesterday."

If you're lucky, I just might friend you, too.