Virtually bumping into one another

I've spent this morning, when BabywithaCold decided on a blissful (for both of us) hour-long nap, to kick around with some of the social bookmarking sites.

I write about this stuff all the time, but don't do a great job of using it. Translation: I have a facebook account, but unless I look a lot like a silohuette with a question mark in it, I don't think I've uploaded a photo.

But as some of the old new media gets upgraded to new new media, I'm starting to realize there are some new rules in this strange new frontier of etiquette and plain old human relations.

For example, I've used Yahoo! mail since the dark ages of the mid-nineties. They now offer an instant messaging feature, which includes anyone who's listed in your address book to pop up on an IM list. I use IM all the time, but it's mostly with people I work with, and those I still wish I worked with. I don't even use it with very close friends, who are still more the e-mail or cell phone types.

So when I look at my list of available IM people, and see high school friends I haven't spoken to since, well, high school, I'm tempted to say "Hi!" but then stop myself when I suddenly feel like the creepy stalker spammer schmoo.

I love reconnecting with old friends and colleagues, but it was so much simpler when the way to do that was it was at the bar at a conference, or at the local Safeway or ShopRite. It just seemed more natural, and you always had some sort of out like, "Oh, look, I need a refill on my drink!" graceful exit.

Somehow, once I get past the initial, "Hi, X! How are you?" I feel like I'm in creepy stalker, now-what? territory.

But then again, maybe the chance to reconnect and just say hi is enough after all.