I probably put to much time into reading the status messages, notes or what not that friends post on Facebook, Twitter, or their blogs (RSS feeds are your friends). 

Part of my motivation is that several of my friends from bygones past died before I got back in touch.  Indeed, in one case, I googled a friend to find that her only reference was her obituary from a few months before.  While I know that it is just life, using these tools helps me, as Glen Daniels pointed out, to keep a finger in the lives of my friends whether we met 20 years ago or 2 months ago.

In someways I think I know more about some friends now than I did years ago.  It is weird, fun and somewhat reassuring all in one