even the most ebullient, charismatic social butterfly couldn’t possibly have 5000 or even a thousand friendships of value. definitely followers–sort of a six degrees thing– but of those thousands, many of them are there just for the association or do share some very distant, indefinable connection. but take my small list for example. i have 89 friends, most of whom i’ve known for a long time in some definitive capacity and whose friendships i’d like to think i could count on but never take for granted. but even of those, some of them are simply fairweather, and i’m okay with that. but would i count on them in a bind? not a chance. out of those 89, i know who my friends are. they’re the ones whose profiles i visit regularly or whom i know would pick up on something subtle that was OOC for me, whose birthdays i never forget (and who don’t forget mine) and so forth. the rest, i wouldn’t say i’m collecting so much as expanding a given network to learn more and share more (like with rabbit rescue/adoption/education). fb is great for social networking and i suppose the whole point of that is to be able to cast a wider net to reach a broader audience. and maybe out of any new connections i cultivate from that particular network, i may form some genuine friendships.
however, i keep my numbers around 100 because i can honestly say i value each of those friendships and/or connections (apparently more than i value my time! i’d have been halfway done cleaning my room by now. ah, procrastination.)

even the most ebullient, charismatic social butterfly couldn’t possibly have 5000 or even a thousand friendships of value. definitely followers–sort of a six degrees thing– but of those thousands, many of them are there just for the association or do share some very distant, indefinable connection. but take my small list for example. i have 89 friends, most of whom i’ve known for a long time in some definitive capacity and whose friendships i’d like to think i could count on but never take for granted. but even of those, some of them are simply fairweather, and i’m okay with that. but would i count on them in a bind? not a chance. out of those 89, i know who my friends are. they’re the ones whose profiles i visit regularly or whom i know would pick up on something subtle that was OOC for me, whose birthdays i never forget (and who don’t forget mine) and so forth. the rest, i wouldn’t say i’m collecting so much as expanding a given network to learn more and share more (like with rabbit rescue/adoption/education). fb is great for social networking and i suppose the whole point of that is to be able to cast a wider net to reach a broader audience. and maybe out of any new connections i cultivate from that particular network, i may form some genuine friendships.
however, i keep my numbers around 100 because i can honestly say i value each of those friendships and/or connections (apparently more than i value my time! i’d have been halfway done cleaning my room by now. ah, procrastination.)

To me, on places like twitter or facebook, the word behind the word ‘friend’ is really ‘connection.’ The idea is that we are making ‘connections’ with people, even if it is just in a small way. And it’s not about the size, quantity, or measurement of the connection… it is simply connection. Through that, like anything in life, connections can flower in ways you never perhaps imagined.

Even though the term being used is ‘friend,’ what we are really doing is cultivating connections. A very important differentiation to make!

To me, on places like twitter or facebook, the word behind the word ‘friend’ is really ‘connection.’ The idea is that we are making ‘connections’ with people, even if it is just in a small way. And it’s not about the size, quantity, or measurement of the connection… it is simply connection. Through that, like anything in life, connections can flower in ways you never perhaps imagined.

Even though the term being used is ‘friend,’ what we are really doing is cultivating connections. A very important differentiation to make!

And while I do not friend collect, I do have more followers/following/friends than some feel is realistic.

But I define friend differently on facebook. that is there term, not mine. Same goes for twitter.

At the end of the day I do agree that there needs to be value in any of these connections. But I also think that people make their own choices on how they connect with online and numbers do not necessarily apply.

I also grokked on this in video form: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xP3bt_Xu9ys

And while I do not friend collect, I do have more followers/following/friends than some feel is realistic.

But I define friend differently on facebook. that is there term, not mine. Same goes for twitter.

At the end of the day I do agree that there needs to be value in any of these connections. But I also think that people make their own choices on how they connect with online and numbers do not necessarily apply.

I also grokked on this in video form: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xP3bt_Xu9ys