#12 Social networking

I love my friends, but when it comes to the big, wide world, I'm pretty shy.

I'm still old-fashioned enough to control public access to my phone number and email address. I'll put my books on library thing and pictures on flickr. I've got this blog, but I hope it doesn't get beyond my friends! And for the moment, I'm not prepared to network socially.

My Space--eek!--what's with all the skin, shades and big hair? I stayed long enough to follow this exercise and look for the librarians' group. The group appears to be there to socialize, which is good, but the posts I saw seem to be very old. Maybe My Space didn't bring fulfilment? Definitely not a place to go for professional connection or inspiration.

Even without joining, I can see that Facebook has more to offer for me. Today's featured member is Captain Sully Sullenberger, who brought the airliner down safely right next to Manhattan and onto the Hudson River. The buzz around him and his team is heartwarming and revealing. There are certainly really thoughtful, thinking people out there on Facebook.

I also know that there are loads of specialized interests represented on Facebook. If I ever wanted to get really social on line, I'd definitely join.

Thanks for the article about office-workers on Facebook, David. I read that and a longer article linked to it, "The technology disconnect".

Interesting commentary on the way society and relationships are changing in a world where much of our social connection is online.