ClassMates.com

For the last several months, I've had a profile on ClassMates.com. It's a great site to see who's still circulating from high school and college, but it is a really irritating site to use, because it prohibits putting URLs and email addresses in your profile. I understand why the site prohibits it. I suppose I would, if I were running the site. It prevents x-site scripting attacks and other hazards, but it also prevents people from communicating effectively with one another, because the site doesn't notify users of profile and email activity. I have to go back to the site several times a week to see if anyone has left a message for me.

The upside is that I am starting to reconnect with a few of my classmates. This is important to me, because I've lost touch with nearly everyone with whom I went to high school and college. I'm far removed in time and place from Moscow, Idaho, and I'd like to be more in touch. I like ClassMates.com because it fosters that connection.

My profile gets a fair number of hits, and a number of people have signed my guestbook or sent me a note. Although most people on the site do not provide much information about themselves, I've found that people respond to my photos and my story. I think it all comes back to, "If you don't advertise, you don't get the business."