I'm confuuuused!

Maybe you're not like me. Maybe you MySpace, and FaceBook, and blog like there's no tomorrow. Me, I've been out of the tech loop for a while. Even though I'm no 'net newbie, for many years a ratty old computer and dial-up held me back from all those whiz-bang pursuits.  So now that I've caught up with the technology, I'm dipping a toe into social networking.

And I'm scared.

All these years, the talking heads would say "Don't share your personal info online!" and back in the days when all anybody wanted to know about you was "a/s/l?" that was pretty darn easy. But now everybody wants to know everything about you. Not just your age, gender, and location, but your likes, your dislikes, who your friends are, what you look like, how much belly button lint you have, and what you're doing right this second!

EEEK!

So, I'm trying.  Lured by money (so, I've discovered I can be bought!), I've joined Gather.  I've attempted to straddle the fence between being friendly and informative while still being my shy, secretive, non-committal "bail at anytime" self.  Not an easy feat, let me tell you.

But after poking around for a while, the one problem that remains is: I'm confused! Now, the other points community I've recently joined (not only can I be bought, but I'm apparently a bit of a whore!), Boomertowne, made this all rather painless.  Sign up, click around, vote on things, add friends. Easy! True, I won't earn as much as the people who were there before June (dagnabit), but at least I can easily earn something.  Gather, on the other hand....   I've added a picture to my profile (and now feel somewhat embarrassed, because people are voting on it but I didn't take it -- I just found it on the web), I've added a friend., I've joined a couple of groups, and I've clicked around, trying to figure this place out. What have I earned? 3 shiny points!

What?

I'm no idiot.  (I know, 'cause I've taken online IQ tests, and they've gotta be accurate, right!?) But trying to figure this place out is like trying to solve a Rubik's cube blindfolded. How, exactly, is one supposed to earn points? I'm assuming publishing content is probably a big factor (e.g. writing articles -- like this! -- commenting, etc?).  And, judging by this group (which I would not have joined if not invited, so...thank you! ...I think...), you also earn points by having your content rated?

Bah.  I'm hoping all of this will become apparent in time.  I looked for a "hopeless Gather newbies" group but didn't stumble upon one.  Not to say it doesn't exist. It probably does. I'm just too busy feeling up my Rubik's cube to find it.....