google

Just about anybody who spends any time on the web has to admit that there are way too many social networking sites. You’ve got Facebook, Myspace, Orkut, Friendster, LinkedIn, and just about a million others.

Although I’ve had accounts on a good number of them, I just can’t keep them properly updated and maintained anymore. Thus, I’ve decided to start “pruning my network,” so to speak. As such, I’ve cancelled my accounts on Orkut and Friendster. I haven’t even touched my Orkut account in about 2 years, except to occasionally accept friend requests from the hordes of (often quite attractive) Brazillian women who seem to try and befriend everyone on Orkut. And I hadn’t logged into Friendster for so long that I couldn’t remember my password. I also plan on canceling my Myspace account soon, but I’d like to notify a few friends on there before I suddenly disappear.

From now on, I plan on maintaining a much smaller collection of social sites:

• Flickr for my photo collections
• Facebook for general friend-networking
• LinkedIn for career networking
• Twitter for random comments

If you want to network with me, you’re best to find me on one of those four in the future.

Update: I’ve notified those people in my MySpace that weren’t already on Facebook and I’ve canceled my account.

I just signed into my GMail and saw this announcement about Google’s new “GMail Paper” service:

Intriguing:

Is it free? Yes. The cost of postage is offset with the help of relevant, targeted, unobtrusive advertisements, which will appear on the back of your Gmail Paper prints in red, bold, 36 pt Helvetica. No pop-ups, no flashy animations—these are physically impossible in the paper medium. How about attachments? All part of the deal. Photo attachments are printed on high-quality, glossy photo paper, and secured to your Gmail Paper with a paper clip. MP3 and WAV files will not be printed. We recommend maintaining copies of your non-paper Gmail in these cases. Is there a limit? You can make us print one, one thousand, or one hundred thousand of your emails. It’s whatever seems reasonable to you. But what about the environment? Not a problem. Gmail Paper is made out of 96% post-consumer organic soybean sputum, and thus, actually helps the environment. For every Gmail Paper we produce, the environment gets incrementally healthier.

I love the shot of the guy dropping off the Google box full of printouts.

(Yes, I know it’s April 1st… But can’t a guy want to play along?)

Happy Valentines Day…

Apparently I’m not the only one that finds that funny…

I just got a few more invites to Google Mail and I’ve decided to give one of them away to a lucky visitor.

Leave a comment explaining why I should give you an invite. The best comment posted in the next week wins the invite.

Update: GMail accounts are selling for $50 or more on eBay. You’ll have to make it obvious you’re not going to sell it. I’ll expect a prompt email from your new GMail account. However, if nobody claims it, I’m selling it and taking the money to the bar. Update: Its now a week later and the only people to comment already have GMail accounts (I’ve already sent them invites). Sad, very sad. Update: I have no more invites. So stop asking.