Best friends forever, sort of

I'm now something of a veteran at Facebook, having been a member for more than a year. I've been amazed at how viral the connections to people can be. Friends of friends of friends pop up on the screen, followed by a "Say, I know that guy."

Facebook comes up with suggested friends every so often. Working in the media gives me a small advantage when it comes to having friends in the public eye. For example, I know a few writers and broadcasters locally and nationally. Those people know other people in the "six degrees of separation" tradition. There are also a few retired athletes who have become friends, mostly ex-Sabres. Even so, it's still pretty funny to look over the suggestions from Facebook on who I should contact next.

For example, here are some names from today's Facebook suggested friend list:

Darcy Regier: Somehow, I don't think Darcy sends out a note saying, "Think I'll cut Tim Kennedy rather than paying him a million dollars a year."

Conrad Dobler: Well, I interviewed him a few times when he was with the Bills, but I don't think sticking a mike in his face 28 years ago makes him a candidate to be a friend.

Bruce Smith: Yeah, Bruce and I hung out together all the time in the glory days...

Art Monk: He was a freshman at Syracuse when I was a senior. No doubt the future Washington Redskin read my stories in the school paper. OK, maybe not.

Jack Jurek: Who knew a bowler from Lackawanna would have 2,827 friends? And they say pro bowling is losing its popularity.

Ken Albert: I once talked to Marv on the phone when I worked for the Sabres. Does that make me Kenny's friend?

Jeremy Roenick: Maybe Facebook knows about the time I picked him on my hockey pool team.

Guy Lafleur: If only my French were better. We have no friends in common, which isn't a shocker.

Jeff Galloway: He's written many well-regarded running books. I've written some running stories. It's a natural fit.

I must add to this list as more names come up. So check back frequently for additions (and punch on the Google ads to get me money when you do).

Drinking the Kool-Aid

A friend of mine recently announced that he had joined Facebook. He didn't put it that way, though. He said he was drinking the Kool-Aid.

If it's good enough for my close friend and famous author Tim Wendel, it's good enough for me. So I reactivated my membership.

I haven't had the chance to explore the whole site yet, and I'm far from an expert on what links do what. In other words, I have no idea what a PicDoodle is. But I'll learn.

What has surprised me, though, is how wrong I was about who belongs. I thought it was something for the "kids," not old fogeys (fogies?) like myself. But there are plenty of aging baby boomers like myself on there.

It's pretty amazing how the webs of friendship expand in an almost viral nature. I've looked at some people's list of friends, and said, "I know him. I know her." And so on. One person leads to another, to another. I should reach Kevin Bacon any day now. I have gotten in touch with some old friends who had fallen off the radar screen. Considering how many people are on my e-mail list, this is equal parts surprising and impressive.

My first decision was what photograph to use for an introduction. Almost 20 years ago, I took a special tour of the White House with the Buffalo Sabres. I had someone take a picture of me in front of the podium in the press briefing room. It's pretty impressive, and my hair is still brown and not gray. It's just not particularly up-to-date.

But now things get tougher. While I've done most of the looking for people, a few have actually found me through the "mutual friends" feature. I've decided on a few rules for such tie-ins:

1. I'll accept any individual who wants to be a friend. Heck, they might get steered to this blog, or one of my other blogs. Maybe they'll demand more coverage of the Buffalo Bandits. And I can always use more friends.

2. I don't really want to hear from politicians, unless I know them as friends. (This restricts the list to about two people.) I have visions of getting daily updates on how they are saving America one piece of legislation at a time, which would be even worse than those boring constituent newsletters that are mailed out with alarming regularity. Besides, I'm not sure I want to be David Paterson's friend at the moment, although it sounds like he could use all he can get.

3. I'm not sure I want to be involved with any organizations quite yet, so I'm declining those invitations. I'm open to considering it down the road, but as for now I'll stick to people.

We'll have to see how much time I put into this. But as for now, please get me another glass for more Kool-Aid.