Is.It.Me?Space.Com

I have a profile. I have Friends. I have even been Added and have asked to be Added. So why do I feel like something's missing? Why do I feel like I'm doing something wrong?

I have friends who can get on a plane or a train and end the journey having met a new acquaintance. Nobody talks to me when I am traveling. I never meet anyone. My wife moved into my apartment shortly after we met. I had been living in the same neighborhood for five years and only said hello to the fellow in the pizza parlor, the husband and wife at the video store, and the cashier at the supermarket. Within a week she was friendly with most of the neighborhood (including the severe looking guys at the Italian Club on the corner).

Networking itself is confusing to me? I know that it happens - that it is supposed to happen. I know it is routine and ordinary. But it seems so insincere to admit that you do it or that you are good at it. At least it does to me. It could be just the idealist in me. The part of me who wants to meet people for the thrill of meeting new people and not for the purpose of my own professional advancement.

Networking. It sounds so calculated.

I set up a MySpace account after reading an article about it in Blender? Or Spin? Or Rolling Stone? I don't remember which. It was a short article where the subject matter was more interesting than the writing. The article was about how MySpace is changing the way music is being marketed. It talked about how bands were using MySpace to connect with fans and promote their shows and CDs. I have actually become a fan of some of the bands that have sent me MySpace friend requests. Tilly and the Wall, Tiny Masters of Today, and Ruby Throat (Katie Jane Garside's project) to name a few.

I recently set up a Face Book profile. I guess now that MySpace can be considered mainstream, technophiles are looking for other virtual networking alternatives. My youngest sister introduced Face Book to me. She says it's "cooler" than MySpace. I can't tell the difference. MySpace has better customization options but Face Book has much less spam.