Coleridge famously wrote that “friendship is a sheltering tree.”  But what kind of shelter is provided by digital branches? In an online world, is it necessary to deploy finger quotes when using the term “friend?”  Am I the only one who finds the use of the term  “followers” on Twitter slightly creepy? Is the process of quantifying social connections soul sucking? A recent blog post about online status anxiety ponders this question. Maybe I should ask the 94 fans of our Spout Facebook page what they think….