MySpace, Facebook, Blogs and CarePages

Facebook.com
I had a friend send me an invitation to Facebook. I accepted and thought I wouldn't use it much. Oh, I'm having a great time with it. It is a mindless way to occupy your time and yet keep in touch with friends and relatives who live far and wide. For you older folks (of course, this includes me) it is a great way to relate to your children, nieces and nephews, and young adult friends. Great for cousins who might live far apart. Facebook allows you to load as many photos as you would like. My favorite application on Facebook has turned out to be "Pieces of Flair". You can select from hundreds of buttons with sayings, photos, cartoons, Bible verses and so many more. You send them to your friends and they can post them to their bulletin board. I admit with embarrassment that I spent a good deal of time yesterday making my own "Pieces of Flair". My favorite flair was the one I made from a photo of Brent. I sent it to my friends who knew him. I also made one from a photo of a panda that I took at the zoo. You can list flairs in the directory for everyone to use or in the case of the photo flair of Brent I kept that one to myself and can send it to the people I choose. To my surprise I've had 16 people choose my panda to send to their friends. Guess what? It feels good that the flair I created was chosen by someone else.

MySpace.com
My oldest daughter, Anna, has had a MySpace page for a long time. She decided to set one up for Brent before he went to Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, MD. She said it would be a great way to let people know about his leukemia and what was going on with him. I just couldn't get into it. Well, after spending all this time with Facebook, Anna tells me MySpace is just as good as Facebook. Okay, so now I'm spending this evening setting up a MySpace account. I'll see how I like it.

Blogs
The diarist in me loves to write on my blog. I enjoy writing life stories/moments and sharing them with others hoping they will be encouraged. My friend Liz is an avid blogger. She rarely misses putting something on her blog on a daily basis. I freeze when I begin thinking about writing on my blog. I begin thinking about how long it will take me to write my thoughts, or I think "Nobody wants to read about so and so or this and that." Liz will send me ideas, or tell me to just post a photo or a joke. I feel guilty, as all diarist, when I don't write something everyday. I'm a big procrastinator and it is easy to find an excuse. I'm not even moved by the fact that my visitor counter hasn't moved for several days. But, my blog is here for me whenever I need it.

Grandma and Grandpa set up a blog for your grandchildren, nieces and nephews. Write family stories and add photos.

CarePages.com
What a blessing CarePages was for me. The spouse of a patient at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, MD told me about the CarePages. They are free pages where you can share updates about your loved ones illness or hospital stay. You can post up to the minutes updates and photos to hundreds of friends and family. Your friends can send you messages of encouragement and let you know they are praying for you and your loved one. CarePages was my lifeline to friends and family back home. In the evening when I came back home to the apartment I could write an update about Brent and send photos. It helped me to keep my thoughts together and keep me sane for the 4 months we were there.

It may be hard for the older generation to relate to these electronic ways of communicating, but it is certainly something that young people embrace. RSVP's, long hand written letters, and thank you notes are all but gone. The days of spending my summers writing 15 page letters, to pen pals and classmates who had moved away, are long gone.

The above web sites are great ways to keep in contact with family and friends who are near or far away. They all provide you with the option of only sharing your page with "friends only". I hope you'll try one.