Facebook

I recently joined Facebook. It was simply because I was curious but it has had an unexpected side benefit. One of the things I miss about working in an office is the camaraderie. It can be quite lonely at home, even with my husband here. Facebook has been like a virtual watercooler. I can see what my friends are up to, see the latest pictures of their kids, chat or share a joke.

Working from home is a somewhat isolating. There are days where my husband and I never leave the house. There are days where we don't talk to anyone but family or business contacts and the business phone calls are all business. And there is no one to go to lunch with other than each other, but we rarely have lunch away from our desks anyway. Facebook has filled some of that void. It is a little extra peer contact. In some ways it is better than "real" coworkers. With Facebook, I can pay attention or not. I can log in or not. It does not interrupt my work and I can even turn off email notifications if they are so numerous as to be bothersome (hasn't happened yet -- but I don't have that many friends). Now, if I could just figure out how to have a virtual lunch date.