Searching for Friends

Romantic updates popped up. Gregory went from being "in a relationship" to "it's complicated." Soon afterward, I was informed that he was now "in an open relationship." Apparently it was no longer that complicated.

I considered joining some media groups as a way of networking. "Vote Meredith Vieira Off the 'Today Show' Island" had a grand total of one member. (Talk about being on an island!) There were 56 Katie Couric groups, ranging from "Bring Back Bob Schieffer" to "Katie Couric, You Sexy Goddess, Stop Wearing Frumpy Duds!" Diane Sawyer, the co-host of "Good Morning America," has 13 groups, including "Diane Sawyer is HOT." I started to detect a theme.

There didn't seem to be as much interest in male anchors. Brian Williams had a fan club with three members; "Bring Back Brokaw" had 30. As for newspapers, "I Hate the New York Times and Their Liberal Propaganda" drew 64 members.

And yet there are more than 500 groups devoted to beer.

Eventually I had a wee bit of interaction. I received friend invitations from a blogger and two (middle-aged) colleagues, and we briefly exchanged messages. But then it was back to strangers who just wanted me on their swollen lists.

Facebook began at Harvard before spreading to the Ivy League, all colleges and then high schools. Now that anyone can join, a group of members over 25 started a group called "Unlike 99.99% of the Facebook population, I was born in the 70s." And the point? "Uh, if you need a description, you probably don't belong here. Why don't you go IM somebody or check out a Britney concert."

The throwing open of the cyber-gates -- there are now 22 million members -- is not universally popular among the college crowd.

"It's going to become just as bad as MySpace," one person wrote. "You'll have stalkers, and not just the harmless stalkers like myself who look up that hot girl in their Psych class. And recently some girl from Arkansas or something with no college network (surprise, surprise) started a group for Holocaust denial. This is what happens when you let the rabble in."

Well, it's too late now. I'm up to 29 friends.

Too Good To Check

The quote was so explosive that Susan Estrich couldn't resist using it in her syndicated column.

The topic: "Is there anything Mitt Romney won't say or do to try to win the Republican nomination?"