Blogging, I just sort of hate the word, it’s just not pretty. Blog it rhymes with bog- where you don’t want to be, it rhymes with cog who you don’t want to be… well where I don’t want to be for all I know you might enjoy it. In which case I’ll try not to judge…much. I don’t consider myself a blogger in part because what I write tends to fall out of the popular definitions of what a blog is. I don’t write tech news or reviews, I am not waxing rhapsodic on politics or celebrity gossip; lets be honest here celebrity gossip is to Politics what porn is to erotica.

I write stories and not short ones, at least not by Internet standards where 300 words are thoughtful and detailed, my stories tend to log in at the 1000 word mark. You can’t read one in a commercial break, ideally after you read it takes a minute or two to digest, which is not the diversion needed by your average cube farmer. Hence why icanhascheezburger.com is popular, though I have to admit, it feels like America’s Funniest Home Videos for the tech minded. Now I do get time wasters, I did co-author the much-lauded Alliedchemical.com site, considered by experts as a fine way to waste time.

This is a different sort of entertainment, not better or worse mind you-just different. Very different for the net too, the thing about the blogsphere is that it’s lacking atmosphere. It’s not always about creating things as reacting to them. Book reviews, record reviews, Tech reviews, Political commentary and armchair spin. Which is awesome, it’s all these little glimpses into peoples lives, or their perceived lives; by day a average temp but at night he become a diabolical flamer, and protector of the American right, or left, or a Swedish exchange student with a thing for Garter belts. The point is a lot of the wonder of the blog age is a chorus of me too’s, yet another person giving their 2 degrees of difference spin on the most tread territory on the Huffington Post.

All the various and sundry social bookmarking sites aren’t aimed for anything outside of tech, politics, or celebrities, which given the vastness of the Internet is kinda small. Think about it: the ‘net is essentially a great library of all known human accomplishment, fact and fiction. And it’s all supposed to fit into: World & Business, Technology, Science, Entertainment, Gaming, Sports, Offbeat News, Comedy Videos, where is: Zen Insight, clever musings, sardonic prose, historical essay, hell what about lifestyle? Or religion though truth be told they have sort have merged as of late.

Not to get all Mcluhan on your ass, but the medium does definitely have an effect on the message, take for example T-9 text messaging. Which for the Luddites in the audience is a format that picks words for you when you text from your phone, based on the likeliness of it being the proper word. So you don’t have to continually hit the same key to get the appropriate letter. In T-9 if you want to say “Cool” the word that comes up is “Book” do they change the word, no. Instead book becomes a synonym for cool. Likewise in T-9 there is no question mark, nor is there a direct and easy access to it, in fact on my phone to type a question mark in text I have to go 3 sub levels down. People are lazy –so what do they do stop asking questions instead it all becomes statements. Yeah like that won’t have any negative repercussions down the road.

Another strange concept is the same one that politically minded tend to fall into; the idea that talking about something is the same as doing something. It’s not, you can spread awareness all you like but until someone takes action based on that awareness you have accomplished nothing. It’s the liberal trap that I see happen all the time, friends who are CNN addicts, read the NY Times every day (even if they live in Indiana), They destroy parties playing armchair politico, and see themselves as insider. The problem is if it stops there they might as well be discussing Star Wars, substitute Darth Vader for Bush and the Palpatine for Cheney and the story still holds, of course that does make Condoleezza Rice- Jar Jar Binks. At the end of the day it’s the actions that matter, words are great but what’s preached needs to be practiced too.

I labor under the notion that an atmosphere that can support everyone will appear, so I sit in my far too cold basement, listening to records, typing on keyboards, staring into screens, writing words to fill the vacuum. Dancing the dances all the cool social networking kids do. I practice my preaching, and give generously to causes that tow my personal line. Even in a vacuum there is work to be done.

How much are we supposed to take, at what point do we stand up as a society and say enough is enough, I’ve had all I can stand and I can’t stands no more. Of course I am talking about social networking. Whether its profiles on Myspace, photos on Flickr, zombies on Facebook, job inquires on linked in, or phone calls from angry Dutchmen on Skype. The 21st century netizen is wallowing in choices to be social without being seen. according to Wikipedia (itself a sort of social site, while not necessarily networking based,it has become a clubhouse for grammarians and nitpickers the world over) the following are the notable social networking sites.

List of social networking websites

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Name	Description/Focus	User count	Registration
43 Things	Goal and Dreams; Tagging	&&&&&&&&01007433.&&&&&01,007,433[1]	Open
Advogato	Free software and open source developers	&&&&&&&&&&011000.&&&&&011,000[2]	Open
Amina – Chechen Republic Online	Chechens	&&&&&&&&&&&03500.&&&&&03,500+[3]	Open
aSmallWorld	European jet set and social elite	&&&&&&&&&0150000.&&&&&0150,000[4]	Invite-only
Badoo	European young adults	&&&&&&&&&01.2E+7.Expression error: Unrecognised word “e”12,000,000[5]	Open
Bebo	Schools and colleges	&&&&&&&&&03.4E+7.Expression error: Unrecognised word “e”34,000,000[6]	Open
BlackPlanet	African-Americans	&&&&&&&&&01.6E+7.Expression error: Unrecognised word “e”16,000,000[7]	Open
Blue Dot	Link sharing	&&&&&&&&&&080000.&&&&&080,000[8]	Open
Broadcaster.com	Video sharing and webcam chat	&&&&&&&&&02.6E+7.Expression error: Unrecognised word “e”26,000,000[9]	Open
Buzznet	Music and pop-culture	&&&&&&&&&05.0E+5.Expression error: Unrecognised word “e”500,000+[10]	Open
CarDomain	Car enthusiasts	&&&&&&&&&01.6E+6.Expression error: Unrecognised word “e”1,600,000[11]	Open
Care2	Green living and social activism	&&&&&&&&07744297.&&&&&07,744,297[12]	Open
Classmates.com	School, college, work and the military	&&&&&&&&&04.0E+7.Expression error: Unrecognised word “e”40,000,000[13]	Open
Consumating	“Consumeetings”	&&&&&&&&&&021000.&&&&&021,000[14]	Open
CouchSurfing	Hospitality	&&&&&&&&&0281000.&&&&&0281,000[15]	Open
Cyworld	Young South Koreans	&&&&&&&&02.12E+7.Expression error: Unrecognised word “e”21,200,000[16]	Open
Dandelife	Collective narratives or “shared biographies”	&&&&&&&&&&&&&&-1.1.0E+6Unknown	Open
Dodgeball	Mobile location-based service, owned by Google	&&&&&&&&&&&&&&-1.1.0E+6Unknown[17]	Open
DontStayIn	Clubbing (primarily UK)	&&&&&&&&&0235000.&&&&&0235,000+[18]	Open
Doostang	Careers	&&&&&&&&&0173000.&&&&&0173,000[19]	Invite-only
eCRUSH	Teens	&&&&&&&&&04.4E+6.Expression error: Unrecognised word “e”4,400,000[20]	Open
Experience Project	Life experiences	&&&&&&&&&&&&&&-1.1.0E+6Unknown	Open
Facebook	Started for colleges, then high schools, and now everyone.	&&&&&&&&&04.8E+7.Expression error: Unrecognised word “e”48,000,000[21]	Open
Faceparty	British teens and young adults	&&&&&&&&&05.9E+6.Expression error: Unrecognised word “e”5,900,000[22]	Open to people 16 and older.
Flickr	Photo sharing	&&&&&&&&&04.0E+6.Expression error: Unrecognised word “e”4,000,000[23]	Open (Yahoo! login)
Flirtomatic	Flirting/Dating	&&&&&&&&&0265000.&&&&&0265,000[24]	Open to people 18 and older.
Fotki	Photo sharing	&&&&&&&&&01.0E+6.Expression error: Unrecognised word “e”1,000,000[25]	Open
Fotolog	Photoblogging	&&&&&&&&&09.0E+6.Expression error: Unrecognised word “e”9,000,000[26]	Open
Friends Reunited	School, college, work, sport and streets	&&&&&&&&&01.9E+7.Expression error: Unrecognised word “e”19,000,000[27]	Open
Friendster	General	&&&&&&&&&05.0E+7.Expression error: Unrecognised word “e”50,000,000[28]	Open
Frühstückstreff	General	&&&&&&&&&&011600.&&&&&011,600[29]	Open
Gaia Online	Anime and games	&&&&&&&&&09.3E+6.Expression error: Unrecognised word “e”9,300,000[30]	Open
Gather	Article, picture, and video sharing, as well as group discussions	&&&&&&&&&0360000.&&&&&0360,000[31]	Open
Geni.com	Families, genealogy	&&&&&&&&&01.0E+5.Expression error: Unrecognised word “e”100,000[32]	Open
Graduates.com	School, college, and work	&&&&&&&&&0650000.&&&&&0650,000[33]	Open
Grono.net	Poland	&&&&&&&&01350000.&&&&&01,350,000[34]	Invite-only
GuildCafe	Online games	&&&&&&&&&&&&&&-1.1.0E+6Unknown	Open
hi5	General	&&&&&&&&&05.0E+7.Expression error: Unrecognised word “e”50,000,000[35]	Open
Hospitality Club	Hospitality	&&&&&&&&&0328629.&&&&&0328,629[36]	Open
Hyves	General Dutch social networking website	&&&&&&&&03266581.&&&&&03,266,581[37]	Open
imeem	Music, Video, Photos, Blogs	&&&&&&&&&01.6E+7.Expression error: Unrecognised word “e”16,000,000[38]	Open
IRC-Galleria	Finland	&&&&&&&&&04.0E+5.Expression error: Unrecognised word “e”400,000[39]	Open
iWiW	Hungary	&&&&&&&&&02.6E+6.Expression error: Unrecognised word “e”2,600,000[40]	Invite-only
Jaiku	General	&&&&&&&&&&&&&&-1.1.0E+6Unknown[41]	Open
Joga Bonito	Football (soccer)	&&&&&&&&&&&&&&-1.1.0E+6Unknown	Open
Last.fm	Music	&&&&&&&&&01.5E+7.Expression error: Unrecognised word “e”15,000,000[42]	Open
LibraryThing	Book lovers	&&&&&&&&&0214425.&&&&&0214,425[43]	Open
LinkedIn	Business	&&&&&&&&&01.5E+7.Expression error: Unrecognised word “e”15,000,000[44]	Open
LiveJournal	Blogging. Popular in Russia.	&&&&&&&&01.29E+7.Expression error: Unrecognised word “e”12,900,000[45]	Open (OpenID)
LunarStorm	Sweden	&&&&&&&&&01.2E+6.Expression error: Unrecognised word “e”1,200,000[46]	Open
MEETin	General	&&&&&&&&&&072000.&&&&&072,000[47]	Open
Meetup.com	General	&&&&&&&&&02.0E+6.Expression error: Unrecognised word “e”2,000,000[48]	Open
MiGente.com	Latinos	&&&&&&&&&03.6E+6.Expression error: Unrecognised word “e”3,600,000[49]	Open
Mixi	Japan	&&&&&&&&09830000.&&&&&09,830,000[50]	Invite-only
MOG	Music	&&&&&&&&&&&&&&-1.1.0E+6Unknown	Open
Multiply	“Real world” relationships	&&&&&&&&&05.0E+6.Expression error: Unrecognised word “e”5,000,000[51]	Open
MyChurch	Christian Churches	&&&&&&&&&&070306.&&&&&070,306[52]	Open
My Opera Community	General (blogs, photo albums, forums, groups, etc.)	&&&&&&&&01001798.&&&&&01,001,798[53]	Open
MySpace	General	&&&&&&0206304468.&&&&&0206,304,468[54]	Open
myYearbook	General	&&&&&&&&&0950000.&&&&&0950,000[55]	Open
Netlog	Formerly known as Facebox.	&&&&&&&&&02.4E+7.Expression error: Unrecognised word “e”24,000,000[56]	Open
Nexopia	Canada	&&&&&&&&01158531.&&&&&01,158,531[57]	Open
Ning	Social network creation	&&&&&&&&&&&&&&-1.1.0E+6Unknown	Open
OkCupid	Dating	&&&&&&&&&&&&&&-1.1.0E+6Unknown	Open
orkut	Owned by Google. Popular in Brazil and India.	&&&&&&&067962551.&&&&&067,962,551[58]	Open (Google login)
OUTeverywhere	Gay	&&&&&&&&&&&&&&-1.1.0E+6Unknown	Open
Passado	General	&&&&&&&&&04.7E+6.Expression error: Unrecognised word “e”4,700,000[59]	Open
Piczo	Teenagers, Canadians, photo sharing	&&&&&&&&&01.0E+7.Expression error: Unrecognised word “e”10,000,000[60]	Open
Playahead	Swedish teenagers	&&&&&&&&&0530000.&&&&&0530,000[61]	Open
Playtxt	Mobile social network, location, worldwide	&&&&&&&&&&070000.&&&&&070,000	Open
ProfileHeaven	British teens	&&&&&&&&&01.0E+5.Expression error: Unrecognised word “e”100,000[62]	Open
Pownce	Moblog for websites, files, and short updates	&&&&&&&&&&&&&&-1.1.0E+6Unknown	Invite-only
RateItAll	General (consumer ratings)	&&&&&&&&&&&&&&-1.1.0E+6Unknown[63]	Open
Reunion.com	Locating friends and family, keeping in touch	&&&&&&&&&02.8E+7.Expression error: Unrecognised word “e”28,000,000[64]	Open
Ryze	Business	&&&&&&&&&0250000.&&&&&0250,000[65]	Open
Searchles	Social search and networking	&&&&&&&&&&&&&&-1.1.0E+6Unknown[66]	Open
Sconex	American high schools	&&&&&&&&&05.0E+5.Expression error: Unrecognised word “e”500,000[67]	Open
Sermo	Physicians	&&&&&&&&&&020000.&&&&&020,000[68]	Open only to registered D.O.s and M.D.s in the U.S.A.
sexi	Japan (sexual networking site)	&&&&&&&&&&060000.&&&&&060,000[69]	Invite-only
Shelfari	Books	&&&&&&&&&&&&&&-1.1.0E+6Unknown	Open
Skyrock Blog	France, Belgium, French Polynesia, Guadeloupe, Martinique, New Caledonia, Senegal	&&&&&&&&&03.8E+6.Expression error: Unrecognised word “e”3,800,000[70]	Open
Snooth	Wine	&&&&&&&&&&&&&&-1.1.0E+6Unknown	Open
Soundpedia	Music	&&&&&&&&&03.5E+6.Expression error: Unrecognised word “e”3,500,000[71]	Open
Sportsvite	Recreational sports	&&&&&&&&&&018000.&&&&&018,000[72]	Open
Studivz	University students, mostly in the German-speaking countries	&&&&&&&&&02.4E+6.Expression error: Unrecognised word “e”2,400,000[73]	Open
StumbleUpon	Websurfing	&&&&&&&&&03.2E+6.Expression error: Unrecognised word “e”3,200,000[74]	Open
Tagged.com	General	&&&&&&&&&03.0E+7.Expression error: Unrecognised word “e”30,000,000[75]	Open
TagWorld	General (tagging)	&&&&&&&&01850692.&&&&&01,850,692[76]	Open
TakingITGlobal	Social action	&&&&&&&&&0145000.&&&&&0145,000[77]	Open
The Student Center	Teens and colleges	&&&&&&&&&08.0E+5.Expression error: Unrecognised word “e”800,000[78]	Open
Threadless	Custom T-shirts	&&&&&&&&&0364474.&&&&&0364,474	Open
TravBuddy.com	Travel	&&&&&&&&&0760000.&&&&&0760,000[79]	Open
Travellerspoint	Travel	&&&&&&&&&0105000.&&&&&0105,000[80]	Open
tribe.net	General	&&&&&&&&&0602876.&&&&&0602,876 [81]	Open
Twitter	General	&&&&&&&&&&&&&&-1.1.0E+6Unknown[82]	Open
Vox	Blogging	&&&&&&&&&&&&&&-1.1.0E+6Unknown	Open
WAYN	Travel and lifestyle	&&&&&&&&&08.0E+6.Expression error: Unrecognised word “e”8,000,000[83]	Open to people 18 and older
WebBiographies	Genealogy and biography	&&&&&&&&&&&&&&-1.1.0E+6Unknown[84]
WeeWorld	General (cartoons)	&&&&&&&&&01.7E+6.Expression error: Unrecognised word “e”1,700,000[85]	open
Windows Live Spaces	Blogging (formerly MSN Spaces)	&&&&&&&&&01.2E+8.Expression error: Unrecognised word “e”120,000,000[86]	Open
Woophy	travel & photography, photo sharing website	&&&&&&&&&&020000.&&&&&020,000[87]	Open
Xanga	Blogs and “metro” areas	&&&&&&&&&04.0E+7.Expression error: Unrecognised word “e”40,000,000[88]	Open
XING	Business	&&&&&&&&&04.0E+6.Expression error: Unrecognised word “e”4,000,000[89]	Open
Yahoo! 360°	Linked to Yahoo! IDs	&&&&&&&&&04.7E+6.Expression error: Unrecognised word “e”4,700,000[90]	Open to people 18 and older, (Yahoo! login)
Yahoo! Mash	Yahoo’s new SNS – Still in beta	&&&&&&&&&&&&&&-1.1.0E+6Unknown[91]	invite only while in beta
Zooomr	Universal photo sharing	&&&&&&&&&&&&&&-1.1.0E+6Unknown[92]	Open (OpenID)

Realize that this lis doesn’t even include other things that function like social networks, like De.licio.us,Technocrati, or Digg. If you are a hep cyber citizen your on all those , God forbid you leave your desk, oh wait I can twitter from my phone. I can face book while waiting for a red light, yeah I know I am not supposed to do it, but you do it too so pbbbtttt.

This at first didn’t seem like a problem until colleges and universities stared having classes teaching freshmen how to meet and interact with people real-time, in fact we live in a world interaction is a major. Not talking about computer interactions or anything digital, just interaction as a whole, something that the very old fashioned me takes for granted. Your in a situation you are going to interact, not unlike your in an ocean, you are going to get wet.

I sometimes getr so busy with online life that i don’t have time for the real one, you knoe the one I do all the online stuff to pay for. It becomes like the 80’s cokehead mantra, “I do blow to be better at work,to make more money, so I can afford more blow” In this case instead of Bolvian Marching Powder, its the tiny dance of 1’s and 0’s.

I had a similar thought while being lost in New York, “how many cities should a man know by heart?” To which my friend Scott answered as many as possible. A nice thought but at some point it gets ridiculous, me I have my home town:Minneapolis, St. Paul its necessary suburbs, small towns nearby like Duluth and Rochester, Siux Falls, Fargo, Madison, Milwaukee. The Chicago, New York, Los Angeles , San Diego, Seattle, London, then the million small towns that I seem to contiually have to be off to (Bismark anyone?).

I say enough with the social networking. how about anti social networks like hatebook? or heres a thought how about an old fashioned party? Have the whole world over…let say at your house though, mines too small.