Da Count - Connecting

I know, I know, it seems like I've harped on a subject like this for several Da Counts -- but hey, people are important to me.

This past week I joined FaceBook -- yes, yet ANOTHER online community of friends and colleagues, etc, etc.



Sometimes joining new online communities can seem like more of a chore (ie, okay, I've signed up and have to remember yet ANOTHER login and password -- oh, and now I have to fill in yet ANOTHER "about me" section with my favourite this and my favourite that, yadda yadda yadda) I mean, I think I'm a member of at least half a dozen, if not more communities and networks and message boards, most of which I rare ly log into on a regular basis. And in many ways I feel guilty when I sign on to something yet am unable to commit more time to doing the cool things that the community is a part of. (I have trouble enough visiting the countless number of really cool and awesome folks that I've met through blogging -- I mean, I love visiting and reading all the blogs listed on the right side of my nav bar, but I find myself constantly falling behind on my visits -- and get that same old: "Man, it's been so long since I've called so and so just to chat" feeling you get when you haven't written or phoned a friend in a long time)

But the cool thing about it is that, like the blogging community, Facebook has given me both additional connections to the already cool people in my life, but also has added new connections to some pretty cool folks, or re-established older connections.

And it's pretty darned cool. So, what, exactly am I counting this week? I'm counting the fact that the internet is NOT just for porn. But it's for almost countless ways of connecting with real people, with establishing new friendships, with finding things in common with people all over the world, and with staying in contact with people.