How many social networking sites do I need?

[poltr1]

Today I got a notice from Plaxo saying that [a person's name] had friended me there. I don't even know this person. Where do they know me from? How do they know me? And why did they friend me?

I'm sorry, but IMO, friending complete strangers is as pathetic as wearing a T-shirt that says "Will you be my friend?"

I also received an invite to Facebook from someone I do know in real life. I intend to pass on it.

I'm on LinkedIn, Plaxo, and Unyk. I joined these based on invites from people I knew. Granted, I don't spend a lot of time on them. My policy on these sites is that I don't friend people back unless I know them in real life. So when I saw that Stan, Jody, and Bob L were also on Plaxo, I sent them a note asking them if they used Plaxo. They all said no. (OK, Jody's mail bounced back.) And who is "Coolio!"?

If people want to find me, they know where to find me. I'm here on LJ, or look me up on Switchboard.com.

Harrumph.

Comments

[robin-june.livejournal.com]

My mother-in-law's name was on the Plaxo email that I got.

I'm ignoring it, since she's linked to me on either MySpace or Facebook (I forget which).

I don't need any more electronic social networks, since I'm neglecting the ones I already have. I think that johnny-come-lately sites are trying to poach users & friendlinkages from the established sites.

And I agree with you wholeheartedly about restricting the friending in cyberspace to those people that you know face-to-face. I'm hoping that that's not just because we're the generation that we are, that it seems a good idea to each of us.