so this is kinda weird

[sanpaku_backup]

I don't know much about Friendster. The kids, they like the Friendster. You all do the Friendster, right? Anyway, I've never noodled around with it. Yesterday afternoon, out of the blue, I get a message that my old friend Kenneth has invited me to be his friend on the Friendster.

I haven't talked to Kenneth since about October 2001, after his mother died a very painful death from lung cancer. Before that I think I hadn't talked to him in a couple of years. On the other hand, Kenneth lived up the street from me growing up and he and I were pretty much best friends for most of elementary and jr. high school, and stayed somewhat close even through college. To Kenneth I owe my obsession with legos, city planning, the Mac, the Marx Brothers, radio shows, and involvement in various tame hijinx. (This is the same Kenneth I just posted about vis a vis the White Sox.)

Kind of a weird guy. He had a cultured side, but he went to a private high school and after that it was like we went in opposite directions. After college he became a Serious Grown-up in a number of ways. He decided to get a law degree and a business degree and also graduate degrees in Russian or something... then he became a businessman traveling to Russia all the time. The last few times we spoke he mostly wanted to talk about Russian business practices and showed very little interest in anything I had to say. So that got old quickly.

When I was in Pittsburgh in early '03 I saw his father, who was truly wonderful to me growing up, and he asked me to try to keep in touch with Kenneth because he had very little idea of what Kenneth did, except that he seemed to be a workaholic. He even wondered if Kenneth was involved with the CIA or something similar. I felt bad about it. So I tried calling and emailing a few times, but to no response.

Anyway, so now Kenneth put me on Friendster and I sent him a message. I am curious to find out why he would reach out after all this time. I mean, he's obviously had my email address... but didn't want to email me? Strange.

Comments

[cellio]

It may just be that making connections on Friendster or Orkut or LinkedIn or whatever is seen as more passive -- "hey, I know that guy", as opposed to "hey, I'd like to actually communicate with that guy". Not sure. I can't remember if I have a Friendster ID; if I do I never do anything with it. (If I have one, it's because I responded to an invitation back when they were a new idea.)

[alsoname.livejournal.com]

I dunno, I get those things all the time, even from people I'm barely in touch with, and don't think much of them. I think people just get wrapped up in the addictive nature of Friendster or MySpace and send out invites to everyone they have email addresses for.

You can still send him an email back, acknowledging the invitation and explaining that you never really got into Friendster (unless you actually do want to join!), but Hey what's up?

[saltbox.livejournal.com]

I kinda like friendster; it's a good way to keep up with birthdays. On the other hand, I just learned from my students today that you're "old" if you use friendster. The college/grad aged thing to do, apparently, is Facebook, and if you're younger, myspace.

-s,
old

[genme.livejournal.com]

Wow, that's cool. I personally think that long-lost friends don't have to have a reason to reconnect -- it's a net good no matter how it happens. And if he's lifted his head from a single-minded focus on Russian business practices, so much the better and maybe you can renew the friendship.

[sanpaku.livejournal.com]

I emailed him via friendster and he never emailed back, so who knows if anything will come of it!