When I joined the Rotary Club of Los Osos, CA, I got a lot of handshakes and a free breakfast, a presentation about the organization’s history, and access to 30 other businesspeople looking to network.  I got the chance to provide humanitarian service, as the group’s charter states, and I got to socialize with the group’s members and their friends who wanted to do the same thing.

When I joined FaceBook, I didn’t get any handshakes or free breakfasts, and I can’t say I’m helping build goodwill and peace in the world. But my universe isn’t limited to the people in the meeting room at the golf course on Friday mornings . It’s only limited to every person I’ve ever known who’s joined the wildly popular Web site and a lot of people I’d never met before joining.