I have long been one of those writers who dance on the periphery of Twitter and Facebook and blogs.  I admit I’ve failed miserably at all three, and my excuse has always been – ‘well who really pays attention to all that social networking anyway, and does everybody really need to be connected 24/7?’  It seemed, at least to me, that the sites were often filled with self-absorbed people with too much time on their hands.  And really, who has five thousand friends?   

But, this week with the jaw dropping success of the Egyptian revolution – cultivated and then nurtured on those very same sites – my pique has been replaced with envy that others are not only able to navigate those sites effortlessly, but have managed to use them to change the world.    I’m not even sure I would have believed that the internet had fostered that revolution if I hadn’t seen it play out live on television.  Imagine – changing the world through social networking. 

For skeptics like me, once certain that Twitter and Facebook and blogs were likely going to be short-lived fads, (yes, it probably does mean that I would have said the same about television) that realization has hit hard.  I’ve experienced my own kind of inner revolution, and while I don’t expect to change the world with my blogs or tweets, or status changes on Facebook, I do expect to make more of an effort, to reach out and touch and perhaps become “friends” with more people than I could ever meet in my day-to-day life. 

Suddenly, I want to be a part of this revolution, not just a slack-jawed bystander. So, if you’re already on Twitter and Facebook, I hope you’ll “friend” me, and maybe even help me to navigate these mysterious waters. 

I am finally ready, willing and able!  (Of course, it remains to be seen how long that will last!)