So I join Facebook. I'm doing their thing for about five minutes, and I discover an old college/post-college buddy I don't really speak to all that often anymore. You know the story: kids, jobs, other crap.

So I ask him to be my friend (at that point I had no friends -- now I have two, I'm a social animal).

He happens to be online and and we connect. Ya know what, I missed speaking to Mark. It's amazing the directions life has taken him.

Relating this to my day job leads to my first observation of Facebook. And btw, I knew this intellectually all along, but have only recently realized it otherwise. Facebook, and Myspace, and the others like them are about strong-tie relationships. MSN Spaces plays the same game. Strong-tie relationships have value and online tools can renew, and strengthen, those bonds. It's no wonder those sites are rockin.

But they are different than the social networking I use at work -- and I use my version far more often and I don't see that changing anytime soon (read this as big opportunity).

Let's put it another way. Facebook is to social software as cruise ship is to transportation. I wouldn't jump on board a cruise ship to commute to work. However, I wouldn't forego transportation in support my commute. To be clearer, would I send my audience to MySpace, or would I clone it for my audience? No. But, does social software have value for my audience? Absolutely no doubt -- none. The only question is, what are the features of a social software solution appropriate for knowledge workers (of which devs and ITPros are just one enormous example)?

The answer is, in part, one that focuses upon weak-tie associations and has as its core activity (and a core activity is a requirement -- some people call it a "vertical" focus) personal information/knowledge management -- at least to start with. The full story can be much, much, bigger. I almost don't want to say...