Facebook???

Recently I put a profile up on Facebook. You'd have to live under a rock not to have heard of it and MySpace, so I wanted to see what all the fuss was about. I'm still not quite sure.

So far, FB seems like a huge online timesuck. You could spend hours searching for new friends, inviting and answering invites, writing on walls, checking everyone's updates and adding your own. I guess some people get emotionally invested in increasing their number of friends. And by the complexity of their pages, you can tell that some have spent hours customizing and adding info.

As a cousin wrote, for me there's just too much "social spam." How are people I've never heard of finding me? Some I have friends in common with, but some I don't. Maybe FB should include in the friending invitation info about how that person found you. I don't yet understand all the side applications (and I think I read somewhere that some of them aren't completely safe and might track your internet usage, etc.).

And what is the point of things like "green patch" and "friends for sale?" Someone bought me as a pet, and wants me to click to find out how much I cost. What does that mean? Nor am I that interested in playing the various games I've been invited to.

Maybe I'm too old to get it, or maybe I just have a different definition of fun.

Do people really meet new people via these sites? Do they connect with long lost contacts and friends...and if so, in a meaningful way? I'd bet if people took all the time they're spending on Facebook/online games, and invested that in their careers or with their live friends/family, they'd probably get a lot more accomplished. But perhaps in today's world, some find online relationships more satisfying than being face to face. Or...remember this...talking on the phone.

Let me know what you get out of Facebook. And maybe I'll finally understand why it's so popular.