Keeping In touch with People

Awhile back I posted a blog about services like Ringo and Bebo and I've noticed a couple of posts about Hi5 which I have also recieved many emails about but never signed up to. I have however joined one of trademe's sites - oldfriends.co.nz. I was having lunch with a friend from my high school yesterday and she was telling me about how she joined and that a summer job we had both had was on the site. She also said someone there had been looking for my brother, she'd passed on my email but the person had never contacted me. So I decided to join and sign up to my old schools and other things. No-one was looking for me but it was amazing to see some names of people I remember from primary school. Technology really helps bring people together, however I think running into a girl from primary school at Shadows was much more interesting than tracking her down on the internet, there are only certain people you would bother to track down but when you randomly run into people you barely remember it's much more fun as it can unlock old memories.
I do wonder how much the internet really brings people together, there seems to be plenty of oppertunity to bring people together and try an rekindle old bonds, I always feel like my real friends are the ones I am still friends with, the ones who make an effort and you recive emails because you exchanged emails years ago, most of these sites I visit maybe once when I sign up and do a bit of exploring and then simply forget about or just have no use for. Are these connection sites just another gimmick, or are they really adding something to society, I'm not sure - a girl from my intermediate managed to track me down last year (getting my cell number after ringing my parents place) without the use of the internet, and quite frankly I didn't want her to track me down. What happens then, since everyone is so much more connected, will it be harder to get rid of those people?