Molly Schoemann posted today on exactly why she left facebook. So much of it, yes, rings true. It can be graveyard of failed relationships, friendships, and acquaintances, so few of them that you actually care about. So many friends on your network, so many photos, so many comments, so many tiny pieces of information that are simply not relevant to your normal day.

But I think Molly’s point isn’t relevant to everyone. For people who don’t accept every invitation they receive, for people who don’t click “maybe” to events they’ll never attend, for people with the self-confidence to let their friend-list languish under one hundred people? These people can say no to all the nonsense and ignore all the blather. They can ignore the random comments, posted items, events, application invites, and drunk photos in favor of using the social networking tool for what it was designed for: keeping connected with people who matter.

Just recently, I started up a conversation with a good friend who is posted overseas in Kuwait. The email I had didn’t work anymore for him so I used Facebook to find him. Turns out he has wireless internet in his tent occasionally. Without Facebook, that wouldn’t have been possible. I probably would have had to wait until he returned to the states in nine months, after his current experiences had lost their vivid edge. With Facebook, I get to hear about it as it happens.

This is what I say to people who get frustrated by Facebook, with its thousands of useless applications, friends, and other random crap: simplify. Just ignore it. You can use the phone and email, despite the telemarketers and spammers, right? Facebook is a tool with an original use, and if you cut out all the extremities, you can still find that same useful tool.