At the writing of this post, I have 2022 friends on facebook. Are they all my friends, you might ask. Well, yes, they are all my facebook friends. Have I met them all in person? No, probably only about half. “Facebook friend” is its own special category of psychological camaraderie. Like all others, it’s a type of interdependent relationship, and a valuable one.
Most of my friends found me, some of them I found through the various communities I participate in. (Befriend me, but don’t call me a facebook whore). And other than the new layout – which is not so great – I want you to know something. I LOVE facebook. It is a declaration of interdependence in itself.

We use facebook to promote the I.D. Project. I use it to see what events I need to be at, or to hear about interesting politicians, media, and culture. I use it to see pictures of a friend’s dog who now lives in Seattle, who I could never see otherwise. I use it to remember a junior high school friend’s birthday. I don’t forget my friend’s art openings or performances as often anymore. I DO NOT use facebook for email, so if you have emailed me on fb and haven’t heard back, you should try one of my three other email addresses 🙂
Facebook even recently demonstrated a surprising democratic resiliency among it’s 175 million members – when the Terms of Service became overly invasive, members fought back and made fb change their terms back. And maybe members will successfully fight back against any bad changes, such as too much advertising or invasions of privacy. Facebook is so popular, it might not even be a private entity anymore. We, the people, might be the rightful owners.
So, I really don’t get it. Some people don’t like facebook. Some people REALLY don’t like social networking tools. I’m starting to get into twitter too (follow me, boys and girls. I will not lead you astray) . Why? Can you explain it to me? Why the haters? You know you love peering in on the lives of your exes. Come on people, don’t fight the love.