Normally, I consider myself to be a somewhat early adopter in all things pop culture.
If Entertainment Weekly tells me that Pan’s Labyrinth is the must-see movie of the week, I’ll track down the theater to find it. If Rolling Stone picks the next big artist, I’ll give their song a listen to see if I want to buy the album. Even if I can’t stand watching the television juggernaut that is Grey’s Anatomy, I’ll at least keep up with the plot lines so I can have actual conversations with my coworkers. Otherwise, I’d be staring at my feet for about 3 hours every Friday morning.

With all this in mind, it’s very surprising even to me that I only just now signed up for my MySpace page. I’m already addicted. Every night, I check my friend requests more frequently than newly bald fading pop stars check in and out of rehab. What surprises me most is how old friends from years ago have jumped back into my life with the simple ease of the click of a button. I suddenly feel all the richer realizing how many relationships I’ve established over the years.

One of the core values of PlattForm is relationships: with the employees of PlattForm, our clients, our vendors and our affiliates. It’s a vital component of our daily lives at PlattForm to cultivate these relationships to better reach our collective goals. (In fact, the word “relationships” is etched on the window of our main conference room.) When we hit our goals together, that relationship becomes almost like a family. To paraphrase a line from the British version of The Office, we spend over 40 hours a week working with people who are thrust into our lives generally without any say on our part. When you’re lucky enough to have developed a relationship that connects, you’ve achieved something that can be rare.

I know I have that rare feeling when I come to work every day, seeing my coworkers, speaking with vendors on the phone every day, and striving to fulfill the needs of clients we’ve been working with so long we might as well invite them to Sunday dinner. So I challenge you to examine the relationships in your life. Are you one of the lucky ones?

Also, I challenge you to find me and add me as a friend on MySpace. You know I’ll be checking my friend requests obsessively tonight.