Have you ever had a Rip Van Winkle experience? One of those times when you realize the world has changed, but you somehow missed it — and you think, "Where the heck have I been? In a 20-year coma?"

That's how I feel about social networking. Sure, I'd heard the buzz about MySpace <www.myspace.com> and Facebook <www.facebook.com>, but thought of them mostly as havens for teeny-boppers and college kids. So I filed the trend away into my subconscious.