Outside Looking In

I continue to be a player in the whole social networking phenomenon and the process does not take up all my time but enough. When ever I am on line I always check to see if there are new comments or postings. I have caught myself slipping sometimes and spending inordinate amount of time, sometimes just waiting to see who might respond to one of my posts or image postings. Facebook in the main page I work. Facebook is a major waste of time but I have to admit I love the network , I love just being able to stay connected with folks I thought were long gone. I have become much more concerned regarding security and privacy then I did when I first started posting. So far the ability to stay connected or re-connect has over ridden the over issues. The past couple of weeks I've been intrigued buy one site in particular that I have joined "you don't from you know you're from Boise if ..." participants relay experiences or make comments around a particular topic or loading images of a topic it's kinda fun. What I really enjoy is the inclusion and validation among so many peers. Many folks I don't even know but I can tell they were there, part of my history, and the link feels good. I am also surprised at how many locations or events which I thought were isolated or unique were pretty common. One interesting case has been getting to know the little sister one of my best friends growing up. It's a little weird in that I'm not sure what their relationship is now sort of got the impression they maybe estranged which I find totally hard to believe, for as close a family as they seemed to have been and I have am sure are. I find myself wishing there was something I could do to bring them closer together. But at the same time I don't know jack squat about what is going on between them and it's really none of my business even though I kind of consider myself part of that family. Actually, I always sort of fantasized myself as part of that family. Sort of like so many Americans wished they were part of the Kennedys before that whole family seemed to disintegrate one way or another. But like so many facets of my life I find I am just an observer, on the outside looking in.