Finally, a good use for the Internet

OK, so that’s a bit extreme. But after spending way too much time online with Facebook lately, I’ve found balance in my life.

First, about this Facebook thing… I admit to being a latecomer to the party. But judging by various associates, friends, and friend of friends who’ve also joined recently, there’s still a lot of room for growth in this puppy. As one colleague said to me, “welcome to the new biggest time waster in your life,” and by golly she was right.

The site just sucks you in with all kinds of mind candy – games to play, events to join in, photos to post and share and comment on, all manner of gizmos to show which movie star you see yourself as, gifts to “send,” drinks to pass around (that one remains a mystery to me), and more. Starting with the “Bill is _ _ _” status report at the top of the page, the site is demonically designed to make you “need” to come back often and update yourself and check on your many friends. That some friends report “other people” who update their status constantly throughout the day makes you wonder if those folks have an offline life. (It also makes me wonder how my friends know this detail about their Facebook friends’ obsessiveness.) I mean, really, is the world a better place for our knowing that “Susie is watching Johnny play in the back yard” (and which is she watching more closely – Johnny or Facebook?)

Don’t get me wrong. It’s been fun to connect casually with a few folks who I’d otherwise be missing. It’s like popping back into lives that had drifted apart. Within limits, that’s a good thing, and just might lead to interesting possibilities down the road.

In the meantime, however, Bill is … not so sure Facebook is a good thing.

Craigslist, on the other hand, is a godsend. For months, I have been grumbling about the clutter in our house. Things certainly have piled up over the years. Toys get outgrown, and boxed, and stored and… dusty. Furniture from a previous generation of dwelling are a bit too nice to be discarded, but don’t fit in the current abode or in our future plans. Dishes. Lamps. Videos. Albums. Rugs. More dishes. Our attic holds a vast store of stuff that fits into the “one man’s trash…” category.

Now that we’ve arrived at the “enough is enough” stage, craigslist is my exit strategy.

I posted several pieces of furniture and some unused toys on craigslist yesterday afternoon as a first foray into cybersales – and much to my joy, I got three bites within a few hours. That’s progress. Because believe me, there’s more where that came from.

If all goes well, I now have a new part-time job. Just like the folks I remember from Downeast Maine who have permanent yard sales in their garages (stop by anytime), if you need to find me, just know that “Bill is… rummaging in the attic.”