And now there is Facebook. I suspect that this is not exactly the culminating activity of the Internet, but it is one of the things that the Internet is getting better and better at--connecting people through these social interfaces. Thus, in the last few days, I have been able to reach out to the mothers of other fallen soldiers, one because his mother has communicated with Michael Yon (I just left a comment on Yon's status) and the other through the network of other fallen in Montgomery County--I've added two friends through that. People will not have to be alone. The Montgomery County mom is also the mother of a Stryker Brigade soldier and it can be lonely to be so far from their base of operations at Fort Lewis (which seems to have combined now with McChord AF base. Makes sense). I sent the friend request to the local mom a few minutes ago and I guess I'll see how that turns out. Finding the other families has been a challenge from the beginning because of privacy considerations, and it has been frustrating. People are certainly entitled to their privacy, but at the same time those who would like to talk to other families locally are stuck with the phone book in trying to find those families. We aren't listed, and I expect we are not alone in that, so even the phone book would be of no help.

All this to say that Facebook may be of great help in relieving the isolation. The Internet has certainly changed both our methods of communication, and the speed at which we communicate.