I have 243 friends. Like Ras, most are people that I've hung out with a fair bit in person. There are some exceptions, like a couple folks from this list. I also use it as a way of staying in touch with some people from high school and college that I otherwise wouldn't be in touch with at all.
I think that the biggest positive use of Facebook is the ability to keep a minimal level of connection with people that fall in the cracks between people you actively stay on top of and people you don't really care if you never see again. As an example, I became friends on facebook awhile back with a gal that I went to high school with. To be honest, I don't remember her much. But I certainly didn't dislike her or anything. By accepting her FB request and glancing through the updates she posts, I've found out that she's really someone pretty cool. She lives in the same town that I do now, she has a daughter the same age as mine, she into a lot of similar nerdery, she works for a really cool non-profit that I support. We chat back and forth now and having found out that she has also gotten her daughter a light saber just after I got mine one, we're planning on getting the families together for a beer or three and letting the 5 year olds play Star Wars. It isn't going to change my life, most likely, but it is totally someone I would not have had any contact with if it weren't for Facebook. Sometimes I check facebook a couple times a day, other times I go weeks. I only post things, myself, probably every week or two. Maybe a comment on someone else or two when I check in. Still, I value it as a way of keeping in touch. It still doesn't replace my in-person friend network. I have a gathering of at least 10 or 12 people every week and we regularly have parties of 30 or more with one annual party in the 200 person range. But I like to supplement that with interesting, if a bit more superficial, connections to others. Kinda similar to this list, where I "know" a bunch of folks and value my connection with them even if I haven't met them in person and don't always stay on top of every last thing. Cheers, Judah ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| Order the Adobe Coldfusion Anthology now! http://www.amazon.com/Adobe-Coldfusion-Anthology/dp/1430272155/?tag=houseoffusion Archive: http://www.houseoffusion.com/groups/cf-community/message.cfm/messageid:349721 Subscription: http://www.houseoffusion.com/groups/cf-community/subscribe.cfm Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/groups/cf-community/unsubscribe.cfm
