I'm being collected

Like a shiny new marble in a bag full of others.

Somebody recently sent me an invitation to join their network on a popular professional networking site. Not that I mind putting my website out there for all the world to see so that I can e-commerce myself into a new automobile, but how do you say no to this kind of invitation without people looking at you funny in church or at the club or over the back fence.

Do these people really care about me. According to the site I now have 929 new connections in my network since last Tuesday. I hope I can remember all their names.

OK my question is this, when are these sombitches sposed to earn any money if they are all playing the social networking game on your computers all day and half the night. I mean what the hell can I do with these people who I don't know and don't know me.

I think my previous post on social networking is still determinative of my thoughts on the matter. And it goes double for twatters.

I mean about the only thing social networking has proven itself useful for is organizing national riots. But unless you are planning to overthrow the government what's the attraction. But the minute Hosni Mubarak felt the slightest pressure from the bookfacers in Egypt he deactivated the networks. So what good were they?

My idea of a social network is one where I can walk up to you and ask you how much money do you have in your pocket. Then proceed to successfully lobby you to give all of it to me immediately with nothing more than a promise to see you next week. Short of that the usefulness quotient is a little thin. I wonder how many in my new network would even cover lunch much less a cash outlay.