Finding Friends Online
(the new rave)
I have found a few “virtual” friends via the Internet. One arrived via a job related website. I became a member of a job bidding site and bid on a project which my friend had posted. Being an intelligent person, she hired me for the project. While we e-mailed each other about the project, we found we had much in common, and soon our work relationship became a friendship.
I have seen several people strike up friendships by simply chatting about work, cars, the weather, etc., via website bulletin boards. Some websites provide general forums to give its members a chance to air their views to each other. Other sites are specifically geared toward a specific hobby or interest. Chances are you’ll find others who share your interest in collecting stamps, juggling eggs, or whittling sticks. For example, two years ago my husband bought a tractor, and he found a tractor chat group. My normally quiet husband became quite an online chatter and soon got to know a lot about other tractor owners—things besides the sizes of the rocks they move. He even found someone who lives only five miles away from us, and now they visit each other regularly.
Shortly after I registered for a free e-mail box, I itched to e-mail everyone I possibly could. I e-mailed people who were no more than acquaintances. (I found their e-mail addresses by using websites specializing in locating them.) An amazing number of them e-mailed me back, and those acquaintances soon became good friends. When I explored my e-mail service further, I found many chat groups that discussed a broad variety of topics. At the time my beloved beagle was ill, and when I saw a support group for people with ailing pets, I joined in. As a result, I formed friendships with a couple of other caring pet owners. They helped me through my dog’s illness. These “virtual” friends understood how I felt better than “real” ones.
My “virtual” friends also like to play games more than my “real” ones. As a result, I joined a game website. It allows several players to compete against each other online. Fortunately, players are allowed to chat with each other before, during, and after games. Most of us encourage each other and ask for advice about things such as the best age for a child to visit Disney World. By the way, I’ve found that asking for advice is a great ice-breaker. Anyway, some of us have exchanged e-mail addresses and formed lasting friendships.
The above are only a few ways to find friends online. I also recommend using a search engine such as Google.com to look up sites featuring your favorite sport or hobby, whether it’s golfing, knitting, watching TV, or smashing pumpkins. Unfortunately, you may have to visit several sites before finding one you like. But why hop from one site to another, searching for the best when the best is right here? Entertainmates.com is like a great party host. It gathers together a great mixture of personalities in a friendly environment. Then it gently helps them find those special people that make their days a little brighter. What could be better than that?
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