yeah, I thought that article was pretty high-strung too. Just because Facebook calls them "friends" doesn't mean that everybody you connect to are close friends. You decide who you want to be in touch with and what to share, that should be pretty obvious. And the "vulture" in the story sounded to me just like one persons colleague finding a new good friend. Which can be a little painful if you're left out, but not necessarily a mean or boorish thing.

But Facebook does raise all sorts of funny issues. I used to have a really close friend 15-20 years ago. We grew apart about 10 years ago, and I don't really have any need to keep in touch. She was rather judgmental about the way I chose to live, and I doubt that that has changed. She asked to "friend" me a year ago, and I scarcely felt I could say no. I'm mildly curious about her life, and don't mind sharing a little of mine, but now she's started asking if we should "do" this or that together. Not quite sure about how outright I want to be in telling her that I don't want to...

For people you have a clearly defined relationship with, Facebook is great. It's more the general problem with the internet and communicating by writing, it's a whole nother ball game from face-to-face relationships.