""Friend" still means "close acquaintance", but now it also means "edge in a network of people nodes"" ~Talk Techie To Me (June 18)

What does the work "Friend" when used on a social networking site mean to you?

This is the question that is put forth to you today. Obviously, friend does not always mean the same thing online as it does offline. Traditionally a friend is someone you can confide in with your deepest secrets, someone you can do things with and someone who never judges you but instead is always there to help, no matter what.

That's not what it means on the Internet. Far from it!

On the Internet the word "friend" has different meanings. A friend can be someone you love and confide in, but not usually. A social networking friend is someone you have decided to allow to connect to your friends list on your social networking site. It had nothing at all to do with friendship, nothing!

How do you define "friend" online?