I should have known something was terribly wrong with Friendster. 

One of the senators from my state, an ultra liberal, is a member of Friendster.  They posted the state they represent in their profile and spelled the state they represent incorrectly!  

Hey THANKS for the quote! Glad you heard it from me! :)

To clarify, the patent applies to the WAY people connect in the social network. Specifically, via a 'friend of a friend' or 'six degrees of separation'. So social networks are NOT under fire - just the few that require introductions via people who know people, who know people... MySpace and LinkedIn are likely the largest sites at risk with this kind of social networking model.

So I panicked a bit at first until I made that distinction, and there are so many ways to create a social network without that component... so this isn't quite as threatening to social networking as it seems at first blush.

It's such an interesting conversation to track on the boards and blogs - with so many views and ideas floating around... I stick to my original conclusion: this kind of thing can and will stimulate more creative ways for people to connect online. It's a primary human need to connect - we WILL find a way!

Hi Wendy,

Thanks for bringing it to the forefront. I am still wanting to study this more. I did read within how the patent covers future 'technologies' of social linking that doen't require to be wired to the 'net'. Causes more questions to me.

Thanks for coming by.

Kenneth R Sword Jr

Hello Kenneth,

Thank you for inviting me...In my opinion (and many of yours in this forum), networking between people is forever and cannot just stop with one regulation.  What I think:  people try to set up rules on the Internet (if it is ever possible) because of the scams and how unresponsible ones take advantage of honest people.  I hope somebody will find a resolution for this one.