I have to admit, I was a little slow on catching on to the networking site explosion. However, after a bit of mithering from people I knew, I finally got round to signing up for myspace a short while ago.

Until I started to try and write my profile, I had never realised just how hard it is to describe yourself - and I don't just mean your character (although that's probably the hardest of all); I mean describing literally anything about yourself. For example, try and write about what kind of music you like. Ok, if you only listen to gangsta rap or never have anything other than The Shadows in your CD player then it won't be too difficult! For most of us though, it's a nightmare. Sure, it's possible to pick out things that you like, but it's so hard to try and create an overall picture of your musical taste. It's just not possible to write about every single piece of music that you love and so you can only give the briefest glimpse of your musical life.

It's the same with all the other sections as well. You see, most of us are such a mixture of tastes, influences and experiences that a few hundred words in a profile can't even begin to describe anything other than the most superficial layer of 'you'. When I read my profile, I don't think "Oh yes, that's definitely me"; In fact it's like reading about someone else.

Ok, so we've established that it's difficult to write about yourself and even harder to convey your character - but so what? Why does it matter?

Well, trying to write that profile and struggling so inadequately to convey even a superficial sense of who I am made me think about offline relationships. It made me realise just how astonishing it is to have people in your life who really do know you. Nearly all of us will have been fortunate to have friends, family or lovers who have known us intimately. They know what will make you laugh, what you'll think about something on the news, what you'll fancy doing at the weekend and a whole host of things that you may not even know about yourself.

It truly astonished and delighted me to think how well we know those closest to us, and how well they know us in return. Take a second to think of all the conversations, shared experiences, observations and deductions that have gone into attaining that kind of knowledge about people in your life. Think about how many hours you would have to spend at the keyboard and how many words you would have to type in a profile that would give someone the knowledge about you that your closest friends posess.

How amazing is that?

W.H Auden once wrote, "We must love each other or die" and I've always thought that was a pretty good maxim to live by. However, as a result of doing this today I'd like to share a new maxim of my own:

Be thankful for people who love you enough to get to know you - and carry on loving you when they do!