It's BEfriend

I am now very accustomed to social networks, the way they work and the culture surrounding them. I was a facebook member since the URL, was actually thefacebook.com because facebook.com was some other company's website. I was a member when it was only intended for college students, and you had to wait for each college to be added before you could join. I remember anxiously awaiting Chapman University's activation so that I could befriend my cousin, Sarah. Until that point, I'm not sure that our friendship was officially recognized. And, who could forget when they added the photo option, and then shortly thereafter TAGGING.

I think social networks are great. It's been fun "keeping in touch" (I'll use this term lightly) with people I would have never otherwise. You all know what I'm talking about; facebook stalking. We've all done it. You know you've kept close tabs on that girl who got pregnant, or that hot guy you met once. We're all guilty. We've come to use the word "stalking" with such carelessness that we can now go to lunch in a crowded place and say, "So, this morning I was stalking John..." and no one will look twice. I guess this is positive news for actual stalkers.

Because facebook stalking is so common, you have to be careful about who you are befriending. Who are these "friends"? My dad told me about a story he read somewhere about a guy who saw that his facebook friend count was up to 1000. He said, "I'm going to throw a party and buy all my friends a beer." The invite went out to all of his friends with a time and place to show up for a free beer. About 100 replied yes, some said no and the majority never responded. The day of the party, he was expecting to meet at least 10% of his friends. He brought along one good buddy for moral support and it was a good thing he did, because it ended up being just the two of them. No one showed. So, ladies and gentlemen, keep this story in mind and don't rely on your facebook friends in a sticky situation.

You may have noticed my use of the word befriend during this post. I'd like to end this post with a reminder that friend is NOT a verb. You can't friend someone. You may befriend someone, or accept or deny friendships, but I'm sorry, you sound like an idiot when you say, "She friended me!" or "I'm totally defriending him."