Day 10

At church, I'm hep with the under fourteen set. Perhaps, this is part of the problem with my appeal to Friendster folks. Maybe, if I were aiming at folks under fourteen, folks would actually talk back--but online friendships with kids seem a wee bit creepy. So I stick with only the adults.

But anyway, one of the things that's got me thinking about the kids is that some of the older ones, the ones turning thirteen and fourteen and going to their first teen dances and uncomfortable about talking to the opposite sex, I've offered plenty of advice to. You know, on how to talk up gals. Most of them don't think I know anything this--yes, even the kids. And maybe I don't. But it does seem to me that if you have trouble coming up with conversation ideas, there are always things you can talk about, things we all have, like our names. So here is the demonstration I gave to the kids about conversation for those having trouble with a topic:

"My name's Jack. What's yours?"

"Priscilla."

"That's a nice name. Where'd you get that?"

"My parents."

"Wow. That's where I got my name too. I feel like, even though we've only been talking for a few seconds, we have so much in common."

This dialogue establishes names and commonalities, which I think are two keys to any relationship. What guy/gal won't want to spend more time with you once he/she realizes how many things you have in common?

Perhaps, I'll try out this strategy at Friendster, albeit in shorter time. Do you think it will work? I'll have to skip to the third line, though, since that we know each other's names will already be a given. Let's see . . .

I tried contacting two complete strangers and one acquaintance from a long time ago today. I also wrote one of my Friendster friends. The first ten days are done. And so far the totals are as such: twelve Friendster friends written, one reply (I'm going to run out of Friendster friends to write soon); seven acquaintances written or added as friends, one reply; four invitations extended, no replies; eleven strangers written, no replies. If one assumes responses will increase exponentially, then the next ten days should include four--that's right, four!--replies. And then eight, and sixteen, and thirty-two. It'll only be a decade or two before the whole world is back on Friendster.