Work it out

1. A close group of friends is a community of people who have similar ideas, interests and goals. Does this definition fit your "friends" group on MySpace or Facebook? If not, how would you define this group instead? What type of community is it? What is its purpose?

2. Columnist Steven Levy says that social-networking sites have stretched the concept of "friend" to include rock stars and even inanimate objects. Imagine that you administer a social-networking site of your own. Rather than using the word "friend," rename the network of people and things that help define who you are and how you present yourself to the online world. On a classroom blog posting or in a class discussion, share your term, its meaning and the makeup of the community.

© 2008