Friendster--It's the OLD Thing

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Under enormous amounts of pressure, I too submitted to the status quo and joined the Friendster a few months ago. Don't get me wrong, it was all good fun. For about the first two days. And then, it wasn't. Yes, my list of Friends continued to grow, and yes, I had the opportunity to browse through the profiles of people that I didn't know that had tons in common with me. And yes, just as all of you have, I'm sure, noticed, my Friends started to become Friends with big- and small-time celebrities, entire towns and states, and yes, even totally abstract concepts! I quickly grew weary of seeing "Hey! Steve Guttenburg is in your Personal Network." or "Hey! The Death of All Humanity is in your Personal Network." Yeah, the profiles are entertaining, if you're that easily entertained. The point is, I began to log in less and less...

And then, all of the action that seemed to make Friendster so fun in the first place (the adding Friends that you really know and are real-life friends with part, the funny posts on the bulletin board, the occasional surprise message from someone that you hadn't seen in a while, or someone you'd never met at all, etc.) started to wane, and eventually, nearly died down. I've got a million and something people in my network, and nothing ever freakin' happens!

And so, I guess I'm just looking for some of you ILXors (yes, I'm a lurker. Is that bad?) to help me out here...I know many of you are die-hard defenders, and I'm sure some of you are really enjoying the Friendster thing as it should be, but I feel like there must be others of you out there who have felt the strange cold darkness that exists where Friendster once did.

Long first post, eh?

― Otto von Lurkenstein, Thursday, 28 August 2003 19:47 (twenty-two years ago)

I thought everyone on friendster was trying to get laid.

― Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Thursday, 28 August 2003 20:01 (twenty-two years ago)

I thought everyone alive was trying to get laid.

― mookieproof (mookieproof), Thursday, 28 August 2003 20:04 (twenty-two years ago)

well of course I was implying that everyone was using friendster in order to facilitate the getting of laid.

― Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Thursday, 28 August 2003 20:08 (twenty-two years ago)

So that means there's no eunychs on Friendster?

― oops (Oops), Thursday, 28 August 2003 20:12 (twenty-two years ago)

the getting of laid

your usage I do deeply dig

― mookieproof (mookieproof), Thursday, 28 August 2003 20:14 (twenty-two years ago)

I think that eunuchs can get laid.

― Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Thursday, 28 August 2003 20:14 (twenty-two years ago)

yes, see bombay eunuch

― amateurist (amateurist), Thursday, 28 August 2003 20:16 (twenty-two years ago)

somebody care to write a treatise on how exactly to get friendster to perform this service for you? the clueless of us in the audience still need help.

― Kingfish (Kingfish), Thursday, 28 August 2003 20:16 (twenty-two years ago)

I thought eunuchs had no genitalia?

― oops (Oops), Thursday, 28 August 2003 20:18 (twenty-two years ago)

i thought they had no balls

― JasonD (JasonD), Thursday, 28 August 2003 20:22 (twenty-two years ago)

i'm not on friendster, i must be one of those annoying people who run around yelling "i hate sex!!!!!!!"

― The Lady Ms Lurex (lucylurex), Thursday, 28 August 2003 21:14 (twenty-two years ago)

I'm afraid friendster's wank, but I'll go further and say it's always been wank. Life'll be better without it cluttering up our lives.

― Mark C (Mark C), Thursday, 28 August 2003 21:40 (twenty-two years ago)

i've met some nice people on friendster and enjoy logging on. i didn't expect it to fix my life.

― dan (dan), Thursday, 28 August 2003 21:45 (twenty-two years ago)

Kingfish, write charming letters to cute people, move to hott IM conversations and eventually, if all goes well, you'll see some action. At least that's how it's worked for me.

― Texas Sam (thatgirl), Thursday, 28 August 2003 21:46 (twenty-two years ago)

what Dan said.

― Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Thursday, 28 August 2003 21:53 (twenty-two years ago)

i met someone through friendster and it was utter disaster.

― strongo hulkington (dubplatestyle), Thursday, 28 August 2003 21:54 (twenty-two years ago)

what happened?

― Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Thursday, 28 August 2003 21:57 (twenty-two years ago)

kingfish, bookmark people and make the bookmarks visible. a few will write based on that. maybe somebody has bookmarked you. write letters to lots of people. if they respond, tell them you want to take them to dinner. there will be disasters, so maybe dinners aren't practical. for me, the disasters aren't so bad because i learn stuff, and most people are nice.

― dan (dan), Thursday, 28 August 2003 21:59 (twenty-two years ago)

i like meeting friends i know or knew or seeing profiles of people i've seen around town. which to me makes friendster more interesting than dating sites. but getting messages from people i don't know makes me uncomfortable. because they obviously just thought i was cute (and are trying to get laid) and if i look at them and don't think they're cute, they just become annoying (which is 10 times out of 10). but i put up a nerdy picture so my problems are all solved!

the whole idea of starting a relationship based on a photo and one or 2 common interests or clever answers has always been kinda weird to me anyway. that kinda stuff amounts to about .02% of what a person is.

― lolita corpus (lolitacorpus), Thursday, 28 August 2003 22:04 (twenty-two years ago)

... but i met ned through friendster. so IT'S ALL WORTH IT!!!

― lolita corpus (lolitacorpus), Thursday, 28 August 2003 22:06 (twenty-two years ago)

that .02 is just a starter to begin getting to know the rest of the person. Relationships start if you like what you see once you get past the clever answers and common interests.

― Texas Sam (thatgirl), Thursday, 28 August 2003 22:07 (twenty-two years ago)

she turned out to be a total scenester mushroom.

and not just that but the kind who spends her days complaining about the same awful scenester behavior she's engednering by her very existence.

― strongo hulkington (dubplatestyle), Thursday, 28 August 2003 22:16 (twenty-two years ago)

"mushroom" ?

― Texas Sam (thatgirl), Thursday, 28 August 2003 22:17 (twenty-two years ago)

forget common interests--i look for interesting interests. or uninteresting interests expressed interestingly, that can be good too.

the scenester problem is what you end up with if you look for common interests.

(thank you, jess, for the smallville and for superlongevity tips.)

― dan (dan), Thursday, 28 August 2003 22:22 (twenty-two years ago)

yeah, the problem was really that this girl and i seemed to get along in chat, but have NOTHING in common. her life is olympia bars, house parties, thrown together punk rock shows, her "band", namedropping ("i used to date the guy from the locust"...i am NOT making this up), and dressing like make out club. nothing wrong with any of those, inherently, just nothing i really want anything to do with.

― strongo hulkington (dubplatestyle), Thursday, 28 August 2003 22:25 (twenty-two years ago)

i mean, i'd hit it, don't get it twisted.

― strongo hulkington (dubplatestyle), Thursday, 28 August 2003 22:27 (twenty-two years ago)

Dan, did you buy Smallville or d/l it? I want a CD copy.

― Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Thursday, 28 August 2003 22:32 (twenty-two years ago)

d/l. i'd like a cd copy too.

― dan (dan), Thursday, 28 August 2003 22:36 (twenty-two years ago)

I'll tell you if I find it. (additional thanks to strongo for the recommendation!)

― Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Thursday, 28 August 2003 22:44 (twenty-two years ago)

Yay Smallville! I haven't praised it enough.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Thursday, 28 August 2003 22:48 (twenty-two years ago)

now I'm starting to think you're not talking about the show.

― s1utsky (slutsky), Thursday, 28 August 2003 22:49 (twenty-two years ago)

You're correct, sir.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Friday, 29 August 2003 01:34 (twenty-two years ago)

so what it is?

― s1utsky (slutsky), Friday, 29 August 2003 01:42 (twenty-two years ago)

As reviewed by our trusty Andy K.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Friday, 29 August 2003 01:42 (twenty-two years ago)

Oooh looks good.

― s1utsky (slutsky), Friday, 29 August 2003 01:44 (twenty-two years ago)

(nice cover too!)

― s1utsky (slutsky), Friday, 29 August 2003 01:44 (twenty-two years ago)

i never seriously considered friendster as a way to meet anyone, i see it as silly fun with your existing friends and maybe getting to know friends-of-friends but not out to the nth degree.

― Orbit (Orbit), Friday, 29 August 2003 04:09 (twenty-two years ago)

I only used to log in like once or twice per week, tops. But lately a bunch of my friends have really been making use of that bulletin board feature - like, to the exclusion of sending email - so I kind of have to check it daily these days...

― Mr. Diamond (diamond), Friday, 29 August 2003 04:35 (twenty-two years ago)

though the founder of friendster sounded like a tool in the recent sfguardian and salon articles, I think he was right in that, if you don't actually use it to become friends with just actual people that you really know, the pool of people becomes much less interesting because it's too diluted. I dunno. I still like it because I get to see how I'm connected to all the other people in the bay area I've seen at shows for years and years but never talked to. It hasn't driven me to actually bother meeting any of them really either, but I like reading about their interests. BECAUSE I AM AN AWFUL VOYEUR.

Plus I like how you're always one degree of seperation from some dominatrixy fetish chick.

― anthony kyle monday (akmonday), Friday, 29 August 2003 05:37 (twenty-two years ago)

i'm "just here to help", that truly describes my purpose here on this planet.

― duane, Friday, 29 August 2003 09:16 (twenty-two years ago)

jess i just invited you to be my friend, can you handle it

― duane, Friday, 29 August 2003 09:29 (twenty-two years ago)

i was trying to upload a photo of myself but "the above file name (was) invalid", i give up. also i don't like the options you are given for "status", none of them exactly describe how people like me live.

― duane, Friday, 29 August 2003 09:36 (twenty-two years ago)

i'm "in a relationship" with the whole goddamn motherfuckin goddamn world....my heart is overflowing with love! "CRAZY RIGHT NOW", hell yes i feel ya!

― duane, Friday, 29 August 2003 09:42 (twenty-two years ago)

Oh no!

I've been on the 'ster for a few days now and I'm still enjoying it.

You mean to tell me the novelty will wear off?

Arrggghhhh!!!

― mei (mei), Friday, 29 August 2003 10:21 (twenty-two years ago)

Damn! I hadn't even THOUGHT about trying to get laid! ;)

Yeah, for me, at least, it's lost it's luster...

― Otto von Lurkenstein, Friday, 29 August 2003 12:24 (twenty-two years ago)

Duane you have a girlfriend, don't rub it in

― Andrew Thames (Andrew Thames), Friday, 29 August 2003 12:26 (twenty-two years ago)

I'm really glad yr happy, if I'm being serious!

― Andrew Thames (Andrew Thames), Friday, 29 August 2003 12:44 (twenty-two years ago)

Friendster had luster?

― Larcole (Nicole), Friday, 29 August 2003 12:45 (twenty-two years ago)

I only joined because someone wanted me to see their profile.

The thing is so slow, and I have a high-speed connection, that it's not worth it.

― Kerry (dymaxia), Friday, 29 August 2003 13:05 (twenty-two years ago)

Skipping 166 messages at this point... Click here if you want to load them all.

you can't be sure until you hear the voice.

― fiddo centington (dubplatestyle), Friday, 16 January 2004 03:17 (twenty-two years ago)

and sometimes even then.

― fiddo centington (dubplatestyle), Friday, 16 January 2004 03:17 (twenty-two years ago)

(wildest spring break EVER.)

― fiddo centington (dubplatestyle), Friday, 16 January 2004 03:17 (twenty-two years ago)

Some random guy sent me a message today saying that he'd LOVE to have a BITING CONTEST with me. WTF?!???

― Kim (Kim), Friday, 16 January 2004 03:22 (twenty-two years ago)

sorry.

― fiddo centington (dubplatestyle), Friday, 16 January 2004 03:23 (twenty-two years ago)

Why 'sorbet'? Are you like, better than us or something?

― Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Friday, 16 January 2004 03:28 (twenty-two years ago)

hey at least i didn't say "gelato"

― fiddo centington (dubplatestyle), Friday, 16 January 2004 03:29 (twenty-two years ago)

Froyo

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Friday, 16 January 2004 03:31 (twenty-two years ago)

Well... I guess I learned that I don't have a whole lot in common with 19 year olds. She pretty much stopped IMing after I used the word "erotic" to describe the Currin exhibit at the Whitney. And you wanted me to talk about sorbet and her poop chute!

― Aaron W (Aaron W), Friday, 16 January 2004 03:32 (twenty-two years ago)

(As opposed to eating Frodo...well, I should stop here.)

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Friday, 16 January 2004 03:32 (twenty-two years ago)

yeah i think 'erotic' is a no-no word

― g--ff (gcannon), Friday, 16 January 2004 03:33 (twenty-two years ago)

but poop chute is a-ok

― fiddo centington (dubplatestyle), Friday, 16 January 2004 03:34 (twenty-two years ago)

yes-yes

― g--ff (gcannon), Friday, 16 January 2004 03:35 (twenty-two years ago)

Instead of erotic, you should have said 'moving'. Chicks can't disinguish between emotional feelings and sexual ones, you see, like us fellas can.

― the music mole (colin s barrow), Friday, 16 January 2004 03:37 (twenty-two years ago)

actually jess, Bitey (as I shall now call him) is your height, 6'5(?) but you look far less like Jaws from the Bond movies than this guy. plus he actually had a pic of himself jumping in the air clicking his heels together. You wouldn't do that.

― Kim (Kim), Friday, 16 January 2004 03:37 (twenty-two years ago)

not on film, no

― fiddo centington (dubplatestyle), Friday, 16 January 2004 03:38 (twenty-two years ago)

for less than $500

― fiddo centington (dubplatestyle), Friday, 16 January 2004 03:38 (twenty-two years ago)

ok - who's got $$$$$?

― Kim (Kim), Friday, 16 January 2004 03:40 (twenty-two years ago)

whoever snapped the photo for him must be all kinds of wonderful

― g--ff (gcannon), Friday, 16 January 2004 03:42 (twenty-two years ago)

ok, how's five bucks?

― Kim (Kim), Friday, 16 January 2004 04:25 (twenty-two years ago)

i'd do just about anything right now for a little attention

― fiddo centington (dubplatestyle), Friday, 16 January 2004 04:27 (twenty-two years ago)

here - I'll share bitey with you if it'll cheer you up

http://www.imagemagician.com/images/grimstitch/biteyjump.jpg

― Kim (Kim), Friday, 16 January 2004 04:47 (twenty-two years ago)

I forgot to mention the body hair, didn't I?

― Kim (Kim), Friday, 16 January 2004 04:48 (twenty-two years ago)

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Friday, 16 January 2004 04:51 (twenty-two years ago)

AUGH

― fiddo centington (dubplatestyle), Friday, 16 January 2004 05:04 (twenty-two years ago)

he's bigger than the car!

― oops (Oops), Friday, 16 January 2004 06:09 (twenty-two years ago)

THAT is hilarious.

― Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Friday, 16 January 2004 06:11 (twenty-two years ago)

That guy gets a lot of play, I guarantee it.

― Colin Saunders (csaunders), Friday, 16 January 2004 06:20 (twenty-two years ago)

He's a biter, not a fighter.

― Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Friday, 16 January 2004 06:27 (twenty-two years ago)

I bet this guy is a good friend of his:
http://personalpages.tds.net/~interlocutor/hooray.jpg

― oops (Oops), Friday, 16 January 2004 06:32 (twenty-two years ago)

this guy "is in your personal network"

http://photos.friendster.com/photos/64/42/5322446/1851269695614l.jpg

― Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Saturday, 17 January 2004 00:08 (twenty-two years ago)

I don't know where to start with that one

― oops (Oops), Saturday, 17 January 2004 00:13 (twenty-two years ago)

Is it Ned?

― Martin Skidmore (Martin Skidmore), Saturday, 17 January 2004 00:14 (twenty-two years ago)

Malibu Ned

― oops (Oops), Saturday, 17 January 2004 00:14 (twenty-two years ago)

I have doubts.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Saturday, 17 January 2004 00:46 (twenty-two years ago)

His lamp's wonky.

― Dom Passantino (Dom Passantino), Saturday, 17 January 2004 00:49 (twenty-two years ago)

Not in the alternate universe he inhabits.

― Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Saturday, 17 January 2004 00:55 (twenty-two years ago)

Is that the lost product of Van Halen/Bertinelli?

― Kim (Kim), Wednesday, 21 January 2004 01:32 (twenty-two years ago)

Actually, I think it's the flying dog from 'Never Ending Story' or a recent picture of Limahl.

― Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Wednesday, 21 January 2004 07:43 (twenty-two years ago)

two months pass...

so, um, should i join friendster? will women really want to make out with me after they read about stuff i like and see an old picture of the side of my head?

― Ian Johnson (orion), Tuesday, 30 March 2004 00:11 (twenty-two years ago)

haha, i'm a friendster fiend today... you should totally join.

― gygax! (gygax!), Tuesday, 30 March 2004 04:21 (twenty-two years ago)

hmm. sounds like a plan, then. nothing better to do.

― Ian Johnson (orion), Tuesday, 30 March 2004 05:29 (twenty-two years ago)

okay, everyone just add me as yr friend kthx.

― Ian Johnson (orion), Tuesday, 30 March 2004 05:42 (twenty-two years ago)

one thing i've never understood re: friendster messages. i get an alert in my yahoo account ("you have a new friendster message from xxx") but nothing shows up in my friendster messages. i've tried logging out and back in, clearing my temp cache, multiple refreshing... nothing. kinda sucky.

― gygax! (gygax!), Tuesday, 30 March 2004 06:49 (twenty-two years ago)

eleven years pass...

http://i.imgur.com/CNJm1Ww.png

*pourin one out*

― Johnny Fever, Saturday, 22 August 2015 19:30 (ten years ago)

https://archive.org/details/archive-team-friendster

― anvil, Saturday, 22 August 2015 19:51 (ten years ago)

T'S MY PARTY After being forced out of Friendster, Abrams launched Slide, a stylish basement lounge in San Francisco.

― ... (Eazy), Sunday, 23 August 2015 01:30 (ten years ago)

Oh, and here's a more recent interview:
http://mashable.com/2014/02/03/jonathan-abrams-friendster-facebook/

― ... (Eazy), Sunday, 23 August 2015 01:45 (ten years ago)

Seems like an okay guy.

― Johnny Fever, Sunday, 23 August 2015 01:49 (ten years ago)

Yeah. And he really does get the credit for shifting the Internet from aliases to real names (present company excepted).

― ... (Eazy), Sunday, 23 August 2015 01:53 (ten years ago)

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