What's in a Name?

I recently had a conversation with some girlfriends about how many contacts they lost by changing their last names. Yet, most women never think about this fact until after they have changed their last name. And let's face it, sometimes hyphenating a really long last name makes absolutely no sense. That is why I advise women to go with tradition. Use your maiden name as your middle name. If its good enough for Elizabeth Taylor Hilton Wilding Todd Fischer Burton etc. it is good enough for me. This used to be the way it was done, before the Feminist movement insisted on a hyphenation. Using your maiden name as a middle name also means that if you are in one of those professions, teachers I am thinking of you, where you may not want others to have to constantly refer to you as Ms. Schempp-Fournier, you can give them a break.

With new technologies like Facebook, MySpace, Classmates, and good old search engines, getting in touch with old friends should be a snap. That is if they haven't changed their names. Some people may not want to be contacted, so a name change actually works in their favour. I have heard a lot of moaning about how people tend to come out of the woodwork with Facebook. And not all these past 'friends' are welcome contacts. It seems to me this is more a matter of netiquette, rather than a flaw in the tools. Before you ask to be added as a friend, ask yourself a few questions.

1. When was the last time I talked with this person? If it was over a year ago, maybe message them first before asking them to add you.
2. If the person is an acquaintance or a person you know through a friend, maybe they really don't need to know when you status updates to 'feeling ill and bloated today.'
3. Finally, if you dated them in high school, but have not talked to them since, take a good look at their picture and then hit 'ignore.' Really, that is just plain pathetic. I mean it is one thing to Google an old flame, it is another to add them to your Facebook.