I heart social networking

There are a lot of people out there that really have an issue with social networking websites like facebook, myspace and twitter. Now I have to admit, I have not gotten into "The Twitter" as Betty White calls it, but I loved myspace before it became completely weird and now I'm sure you are all aware of my FB addiction.

When I encounter people who are adverse to social networking I always ask, "Why?" and am usually answered with the standards "I like my privacy", "the people I want to talk to know how to get ahold of me", or "there are weird people out there and I don't want them to know all of my business."

While I do understand that reasoning, I also recognize the fact that I moved away from my hometown the day after I graduated high school and lost touch with a lot of people that were my world for so long. And while I do try to stay in touch with everyone, there are still times that you lose people and it is fun to catch up and see what has been going on in each others lives. I have my facebook set to private, so only my friends can see pictures and status updates, I don't respond to requests or messages from people I don't know, and I love catching up with friends, old & new!

I was reminded how great these sites can be when I recently reconnected with some long lost BFFs. Man, we used to do EVERYTHING together! I never could have imagined my life without them, but as happens in life, we lost touch, grew apart, and didn't have a way to reconnect. Now I get to see them on a daily basis, whenever I need a smile, or when I want to remember the good ol' days. I get to see pictures of their kids and see how they've changed (or not) over the years.

Instead of passing notes, we send each other a message, tag each other in photos, or write on each others walls. When one of us updates our status, the other's can chime in. It's like we're kids again, or still. Either way...I heart social networking.