I am an Island

CNET.com has an article discussing Top 10 Web fads, and #6 is Friendster. The idea behind Friendster is you link to friends, and they link to their friends, and those people link to their friends, and so on, and so on. Next thing you know, you're only Six Degrees away from Kevin Bacon

Well, there are a bunch of similar psuedo-businesses with the same concept of Friendster. One of these is LinkedIn; a version for professionals who want to expand their network online. One of the catches with LinkIn is that you have to be invited to join, which means you would always have some connections.

Well, Joe was talking about LinkedIn the other day and I thought I signed up for it years ago, but didn't do anything about it. Last night I took a few moments and decided to see if my memory was correct. I entered my email address, guessed at my password, and was let into the sanctum of LinkedIn, an invitation only service.

What I found out is that I had zero ( 0 ) connections. In a universe of people I was apparently linked to no one. It's like they were telling me to "Go Away. You're just not good enough for the rest of us."

This morning I told Joe the story and we had a good laugh. Then Joy came in and she had a good laugh. Next thing you know, they're looking up the lyrics to Simon and Garfunkel's "I am an Island."

Based on that, Joy took the time to compose a couple new verses, just for me. Here it is:

A summer’s day
In a bright and cheery July;
I am alone,
Gazing from my browser to the internet around me
On a freshly fallen silent shroud of blank screen.
I am a rock,
I am an island.

I’ve built walls,
A fortress deep and mighty,
That none may penetrate.
I have no need of friendship, linkedin causes pain.
It’s laughter and it’s loving I disdain.
I am a rock,
I am an island.

Just so you know, I'm going to build up my network a bit on LinkedIn. [The island was lonely. :) ] Drop me a note if you want to be included in my journey towards the mainland.