Facebook Psuedo Friends

As of this morning, I have 254 Facebook friends. They come from all walks of life, live in all parts of the world, and have connections with me from all different ways. The commonality though? I know them all.

Now, I’m not going to go into a great discussion on the idea of ‘online’ friendships via social networking sites (let’s just say I’m a proponent of the connections). What has struck me recently, however, is how different people approach their virtual friendships.

Some, like me, choose to limit who I’m connected to on Facebook to only those people whom I have connection with in the ‘real world.’ Others are apt to accept as many friendships as possible, even from people they have never met and whom they may never know.

I approach Twitter differently. Because I don’t act as gatekeeper for those who follow me on Twitter, I get a pretty eclectic group: friends, family, co-workers, friends of friends. and complete strangers. I choose to follow people whose voices I appreciate and who discuss things that interest me. I use Facebook as more of a way to keep in contact with new and past friends, family, and former students.

What about you? How and why do you approach Facebook friendships or Twitter connections?

Posted 07.31.2008

Sorry. Commenting is no longer available for this post. In most cases, you may leave comments up to 30 days from the time a post is published.