Friends and networks

Dear James, Daniel and Emily,

So the dramatic expansion of my circle of friends on Facebook in recent months has made me think about how circles of friends expand. I have written before about the expansion and contraction of circles of friends. Which I still think applies. But this idea is more about how people's relationships post school, work, moving etc. creates little groups. And the impact of Facebook is to bring those little groups back together.

School is the easiest example, because I have seen it happen so much lately. After school people drift apart. They move, go to different schools, get jobs, get married, etc. As a result they lose touch with a lot of their friends from school. About 5 or so years ago my CSS friends circle was fairly limited: my 3 closest friends, and then a scattering of other contacts. And this was despite the fact that I was a pretty regular attendee of alumni events, therefore seeing those people who chose to show up at those events. And that was fairly typical, in fact most people had an even smaller circle of school friends.

What I have seen in the past 6 months to a year has changed that. Facebook has allowed all of these people who join to start seeing each others little groups, and in many cases reuniting people that hadn't been in contact, and in some cases hadn't even thought about, in many years. And that has been amazing. And the resultant growth of the circle of friends has also been amazing. Almost exponential. And CSS is starting to tap into this (and I am sure similar organizations will as well). I would hazard a guess that this coming years CSS Alumni weekend will see probably the highest attendance in a very long time.

My CSS group isn't the only one like this. My Boulder/CU friend circle has also seen a similar explosion. I have suggested a reunion like event for that group, but the interest was low. But who knows? Maybe all it will take is a major event to bring these people together. There was an event like this when a popular band from the area reunited for a couple of shows, and in fact I was one of the only people who didn't attend. So maybe this coming year something similar will bring people together, and I will force myself to attend.

If this sounds like an advertisement for Facebook, it is in a way. I think it is a wonderful networking tool. It can be addictive and a little too diverting at times. And in fact sometimes downright annoying. But overall I have found it to be a wonderful tool and resource.