I have been asking that myself. Happily married male, soon to be sixty, long time social networker. In fact, my networking started via telephone in the mid ’60s, probably before the term networking even existed. As a young teen I spent hours on the phone every night. I called Dawn, Ginger, Bev. Was it gossip? I suppose, but I do know this: I really enjoyed talking to girls and finding out “what’s happening?”. Is that any different than what we do on facebook?

When I wasn’t on the phone I was hanging out on a bench in town, drinking Coke and eating licorice. My friends would mill around as we basically did nothing. In the winter, we moved inside to Nick’s Campus Snack Shop. Sort of an early Starbucks trend.

Was in the initial computer class offered at Dearborn High School in 1969. Data processing at that time included boxes of cards, punched with information then fed into a giant computer. I was bored stiff and soon left the field for blue collar labor. Looking back, not so smart…………

Spent 8 weeks as a student at Eastern Michigan University. Spent more time shooting pool at the Union than in the class room. Did not meet probation requirements (1.5 GPA) and soon left for blue collar labor. Looking back, not so smart……….

I was one of the early “burger flippers”, though technically I flame roasted burgers with Jeff at Burger Chef. To put it in some perspective, the industry was just installing its first drive through windows and McDonalds was just kicking around the idea of breakfast. Spent twenty years  managing minimum wage employees until it became maximum stress.

Went into home delivery of frozen foods in ‘94 with Schwan’s. Fun times as I discovered the joy of no employees: just me and the consumer.Sort of a bi-weekly door to door networking thing.

Diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in ‘97, leading to the need for a more sedentary lifestyle. Took a 6 month course and became an A+ Certified computer tech. Never really understood what I was doing, though, and ended up scuffing along for 2 years. Turns out I really wasn’t so smart, at least not in the tech field.

Finally landed in the funeral industry as a pre-planning consultant. I became known as the ultimate layaway specialist, promoting “buy now, die later” options. In a manner of speaking also the ultimate in social networking, espousing the value of friends&family gathering to share info about the deceased.

No regrets, but if I had it to do over…….. I might tweak a few things !