Orkut has a new "feature" that lets you define gradations of friendship. But who's going to keep this up to date as relationships evolve?
The Orkut friendship gamut runs as follows: haven't met; acquaintance; friend; good friend; best friend.
So, when I spend more time getting to know acquaintances at SXSW, am I going to upgrade those "aquaintances" to "friends"? After a particularly loyal action or intimate conversation, am I going to upgrade a "friend" to "good friend."
What about downgrading? What amount of distance merits downgrading a "best friend" to a "good friend."
Orkut started as a fun friend-collecting game, but this new friend-grading scheme is pretty pointless.
The joys of friendship are in the nuances, the facets of play and affection and trust that build and transform relationships over time.
Posted by alevin at March 10, 2004 01:05 AM | TrackBack