I see that The Guardian's Tom Hodgkinson has a dim view of things like Facebook:

I despise Facebook. This enormously successful American business describes itself as "a social utility that connects you with the people around you". But hang on. Why on God's earth would I need a computer to connect with the people around me? Why should my relationships be mediated through the imagination of a bunch of supergeeks in California? What was wrong with the pub?

Here's a news flash for Tom: Not all of my friends live in the same country, much less the same town. Sure, there are various other ways to keep in touch besides Facebook - IM/VOIP systems, IRC, email, even old stuff like phone and snail mail - Facebook is just another way to do that. Some people like it, and some people don't - and then there's the tinfoil hat brigade, with Hodgkinson being a charter member. Keep reading his article, and you'll see him manage an impressive feat: making Facebook into some kind of conspiracy to re-order the world. Riiiiiiight.....

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