I believe in Small World Theory – always have. This is the idea that people you know know people who know other people you know, without knowing that you know each other in common. It’s like six degrees of separation (or Kevin Bacon), only shorter.
Being on Facebook has only served to highlight this.
Example One. I was reminded of someone called Sally. She was on the MA course I was studying part-time at Leeds Uni. Sure enough, she’s on Facebook, along with other course-members who did a trip out to Brussels, like Richard. One of Richard’s friends in Kelly. One of Kelly’s friends is Lucy… who is one of my friends. Kelly and Lucy are both footballers. And what are the chances that we’d both know women footballers?
Example Two. The Ladies’ Chairperson is on Facebook. One of her friends was the former team manager… who used to work with someone who used to work at Metro (who left a couple of years back, and with whom I hadn’t been in touch with since, until now).
The world’s getting smaller… and two is the new six.