Don't be offended, but. . .

I don't Facebook, Twitter, or Linkedin. I rarely "exchange" links--if I like a blog, I just add the link and don't tell them. So if I haven't responded to your request--it isn't you, it's me. According to this article at CNN, people feel rejected when turned down in cyberspace. That's probably why I don't do this social networking thing--I remember junior high school girls' cliques.

CNN) -- If you harbor a bit of angst over Facebook friend requests gone unanswered, a surprise "defriending" or being deserted by your Twitter followers, you're not alone. . .

"People tend to think that these relationships are trivial and not very deep, but this is what we're moving towards, having a lot of our communications play out over the Internet," Purdue University social psychologist Kip Williams said. "That's the way it's becoming; this is how we interpret our worth. People care how many [online] friends they have."

Or, increasingly, how many Twitter followers they have. This year, a third-party service launched Qwitter, which allows Twitter users to determine who's stopped following them and which tweet may have turned them off.

Experts say rejection on social networks can hurt worse than an in-person snub because people are usually more polite face-to-face than they are online."

My blog has been "delinked" by a number of followers--usually I know the reason--and that's bad enough. Why would I want more of that? In a moment of weakness I did sign up for Classmates dot come, and now I get pestered from the website to pay money. No thanks. If there's anything that hasn't changed about me over the years of a hundred hair styles, and wide ranging political views, it's that I'm frugal. Blogger dot com is free and doesn't ask for anything from me. Not even undying friendship.