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I read a post over at Mashable today entitled Facebook Now Recommends Friends and stopped by Facebook shortly after to see what the buzz was about. As you probably guessed, Facebook looks at who your friends are connecting with and sees who they have in common that you haven’t yet added. If you’re friends with Carrie and Dan and they both added Susie as a friend but you haven’t, Facebook suggests that you might know her. Simple enough, right?

My first friend that was suggested is in fact someone I know. I have added my girlfriend as a friend and then as I met the girls she grew up with, I added them as friends. It’s no surprise then that they all know the same person from their high school so Facebook thinks that I know that person. I don’t, so I move on to suggestion #2.

Hold on to your seats, folks. Things are about to get weird.

Miles Apart Yet Eerily Related

On only my second friend suggestion, I see something very strange. One of my friends on Facebook is a girl I used to work with 11 years ago in Maryland. Another one of my friends is someone I met at my previous job here in Florida. They both know the same girl that lives in Ohio! What makes this so strange however is that my Maryland friend has always lived in Maryland and hasn’t traveled from that state very much. Similarly, my Florida friend only ventured as far away as the University of Florida for college. Somehow, these two are connected by this third new friend from Ohio.

I didn’t have to scroll far to find another strange match. On my seventh friend suggestion, Facebook pairs a friend I have here in Florida with a guy I grew up with in Maryland that now lives in Costa Rica! I find it simply amazing that when my friend from Costa Rica comes to visit, I’ll be able to introduce him to someone I know locally and they can gossip about the person they both know having never heard of each other before.

All of us being so closely connected is a phenomenon that I could easily understand happening within the same town. You wouldn’t have to go far to find someone that knew one of your other friends since we all have had many different jobs and made a number of connections along the way. However, for this to work on such a global scale is truly astounding.

Be Nice To Everybody!

I live my life with a simple philosophy guiding my interactions–I will be nice to everyone I come across. It isn’t always easy but I try my best to be cordial and pleasant to everyone. It makes their life a little brighter and has a calming effect on my own. This philosophy has never been as necessary as it is now! Facebook has shown me today that we’re all strangely connected in some way. The addition of this friend tool just hammers home how necessary it is to treat everyone with respect since you never know how that stranger will be strangely connected to you.

Attention Readers: Let’s Test This Out

Log on to your Facebook account now. Take a look at your new friend suggestions and see if there are any people there that you’re shocked to see. Are any of your friends connected through you in a strange way? Report back in the comments section below if you see any strange links!