Oh friend, where art thou?

Mick Bradbury, I have no idea why that name suddenly came to me yesterday but it did. Mick was my best friend during my primary school days, we lived pretty much in each other's pockets - whether we were playing football on the school grounds where I lived, kicking around on the close where he lived, or going down to the old Fosse cinema for the mid-week showcase (a Disney movie, following on from a humorous short and a documentary).

I remember all sorts of good times, and very few bad (although I'm sure there were some). Right up until the age of 11, when my family moved three miles up the road during my last junior year. A year after that we were both at the same high school, yet I honestly don't think that we ever spoke to each other again - not through a falling out, just because our paths rarely crossed - and that break of around 8 months was like a brick wall between us.

The wonder of technology, of course, is that you can now track people down through the likes of Facebook, Friends Reunited, and countless other sites. After his name came to mind yesterday I had a quick look, but no joy. Then again, I'm not sure whether I really wanted to find him or not? It's strange, I really hope that he's enjoying life and having a great time, I hope that his brother and parents are all well, but I'm not really sure what I'd say to him if his name popped up on my screen. It would be the digital equivalent of bumping into someone you've not seen for years - a brief "hello, how are you?" and then an uncomfortable silence... then again maybe that's just me, maybe most people find loads to talk about in those situations?

It got me thinking though, this extended society that the Internet (and other forms of connectivity) has delivered is surely as much a 'problem' as it is a solution? Sure I can go off in search of Mick, or of the guys I used to know from Fools & Heroes (Cam, Ed, Big Jim, and the crew). I could try and track down people I used to work with, or the folks who used to hang out at Alcatraz (nee Sector 5) - although scratch that, the latter might be difficult as I rarely knew anyone by more than their first name!!

I still have a solid core of friends picked up along the way, from all stages of my life (at least from 11 years onward), and I'm sure that in ten years I'll be able to look back on people from - for example - the cricket club, and think to myself "whatever happened to...?".

The technology, and 'social networking' (to use a noughties phrase), available today will be able to help me find out - in some cases at least - and to have that awkward conversation from the comfort of my own home. It's been responsible for plenty of losses to, though. There's the 'Dark Age of Camelot' crowd that I spent so many hours online with - Ricey, Ovi, Raven, and many many more - I'm in touch with a couple by email, but these are people I felt truly connected to and yet I haven't spoken to since I cancelled my account.

The same goes for the group of gamers I used to hook up with on my Xbox 360. I'm still in online contact with a few, Crippler (Rob), Sparky (Holly) and Defentropy (Arlo) are all on my Facebook and/or MySpace lists but conversations are minimal - yet, two years ago, I'd spend three or four hours every Saturday and Sunday morning talking to them through that cheap headset (those guys are all from across the Atlantic, so they would be hitting midnight sessions, and I'd be trying to shake the sleep from my brain).

So, if any of you mentioned above - or anyone else who I know (or knew) does happen to read this - rest assured that I'm interested in how life is with you. I wish all of you every happiness and success, and I'd love to hear from you - just be a bit pushy, because otherwise I'm likely to just stand here looking a bit sheepish.