City of the Unfriended

The ubiquity of Facebook is obscene. That fact that it grew beyond the boutique curiosity of Friendster is obscene. That fact that it's turned "friend" into a verb is obscene.

Kids... there was a time when you didn't have an official "friend list". Maybe you kept a little book filled with contact information, kept a mental list of whose company you enjoyed or didn't and to what degree.

In any case, periodically I feel the need to clean up the list. Honestly, it's an awkward mess as it is. Actual friends, people I haven't seen since high school, people I haven't seen since I left old jobs, strangers who relentlessly send me virtual farming items, a handful of cousins, entertainment industry contacts, randoms... it makes no sense. There's no way to program to that range.

And yes. There are the people who used to be friends. The people I consider differently.

Sometimes, you need to simplify your life by getting rid of some of the noise.