Monday, December 03, 2007

Friendster: Networking in the Digital age




Finally, I created a Friendster (FS) account in July this year. The FS website was introduced about 7 years ago and when people ask me if I have an FS account, I tell them it’s just a waste of time and it’s not my cup of tea (read baduy).
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I am now a convert and 4 months after opening my account, I've amassed close to 300 friends and acquaintances, update photos once every 2 wks and get mails once every 3 days. I am a full pledged FS frequent user. My account demographics shows about 50% women, 45% men and the balance belonging to the friendly ‘third force.’ Nearly 1/3 are officemates and the remaining 2/3s are a combination of families, friends, acquaintances, high school, college and graduate school classmates, fellow mountain bikers and car aficionados and photo buffs.

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The most pleasant surprise invite came from Ms. Carla Custodio who I last heard more than 13 years ago. She was the least person that I expected to meet via FS. Carla was my college thesis mate. She used to live in a condo in Salcedo Village where we often hold our thesis meetings. She’s now based in the California USA while I now live in Salcedo Village just across the street where she used to live.
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So what’s with Friendster? You have common internet features such as email, photo sharing, testimonials, a blog site, announcements and links to social groups. You have an option to accept or reject friends. Of course, we wouldn’t want to be rejected, right?
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Our parents and mentors always highlight the advantages of networking. In the pre internet era, networking was limited to casual talk, parties and other social occasions. In this day and age, aside from text messaging, email groups, forums, you can add online networking such as Friendster Multiply, MySpace and Facebook in the growing list.

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