It's a small world, after all, so why not check it out?

Kathy Holmes raises an interesting point about social network sites (Facebook, MySpace, etc.). Do you join? How many? Which ones? We "old" folks are always one or two steps behind the high school and college students with these sites, and they are always moving onto a new one just when when the 'rents figure out how to sign up and sign on and see what their kids are up to. (Xanga used to be all the rage, right, but when's the last time anyone under 21 updated theirs?)

I got an invitation to join Facebook yesterday from a fellow college alumnus, and contrary to what I'm sure is my son's assumption that I signed up just so I could spy on him (mwah ha ha...), I actually decided it would be fun to see how many folks from college and grad school and high school were signed up, too. (TWO from my high school class, by the way ... including me. Hehe!) I've had a few fun catching up conversations already. It's a little less intimidating than sending a random email, and certainly less pressure for everyone if all you want is a little "Howdy, good to see you are still alive, and wow, your kids are cute and big!" type conversation. You can always continue on in private, longer emails if you care to.

At any rate, I'd think it certainly can't hurt as an apiring writer to expand the radius of people you know, or keep in touch with old friends, with the obvious caution that you don't do it only for that reason. People know when they're being used, but the people you know are also some of your best marketing resources when they trust you. (Hence, a disclaimer: If you read this after browsing to it from Facebook, I promise I really do want to see how you're doing! I'm not a you-ser!!!)

Wow, this is totally off topic, but Laura Prepon just came out on the Craig Ferguson show. I am really enjoying October Road here in the midst of the writer's strike and other shows winding down as their last recorded episodes show. October Road had kind of a shaky start last year, and I was only vaguely interested, but the storylines are really picking up some speed. I love the pizza girl/agoraphobic pair and Eddie and Janet. Prepon's on-again/off-again thing with ... um ... yeah, the main guy, whatever his name is, is still a little too predictable.

Guess I should add that show to my Facebook. Heh. See how smoothly I transitioned back to the topic? But, that's all I really have to say. I have to go check my wall.

Yep, another caution--we already spend too much time away from the page with blogs--wait until you see what a timesucker Facebook is! Of course, it's only been one day. Give me a few days and the new will wear off. :-D