Being a Facebook virgin (noob?)

Hello to all who might have stumbled upon this block blindly, or have been told personally to look at it.

I have been guarding my web privacy for a while, but I realized that Google knew everything about me (even more than the CIA, the NSA, the FBI, and other agencies more secret), that I might as well share my thought to others who might find them interesting.

Earlier this week, I took the plunge and started a facebook (hereafter "FB" account. It's odd. To begin with they ask you about your affiliations, such as schools, so I mentioned my incarceration at Radford High School, my happy times at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (known by the rest of the world, even wiki, as Virginia Tech and by some fogies as the University of I460), and my busy work-filled time at the University of Alabama.

So, all of a sudden I was given a list of my possible friends{[1] based on my HS year and my university affiliations. It's funny, but I now have friends, who are friends[2] (people that I chose to associate with) that I have not heard of for 20+ years.

It was possibly a mistake, but I let FB scan my gmail and all of a sudden I had friends who were co-workers, my beloved graduate students, and colleagues.

Friendship is a 2-stage process, you have to ask to be a friend (and fill out one of those scribbled anti-spam words), then your proto-friend, will give you a thumbs up or down. 100% so far -- maybe I am popular.


[1] friend Someone who you have asked to be a FB link and they have accepted.
[2] Friend Someone you like and have chosen to spend time and effort to enjoy their companionship.