One day after work, I went to a happy hour with friends. The sun was shining through the trees, and it was the perfect temperature to sit outside. There were many common friends there and some new ones too. We sat around picnic tables laughing and having a good time, enjoying he weather.

I made my rounds and was sure to talk to everyone. I had to get up early the next morning and decided to leave early to get some things done before going to bed. By the time I left we were all on a friendly first name basis.

As I was walking to my car, I checked my phone to see if I had any new emails. Sure enough, I did. It was a Facebook friend request from someone I had met just an hour before.

This is a hypothetical situation, but was it too soon? How long should you know someone before entering the frienosphere? Is one meeting enough, or a few, or do you need to be in the inner circle of friends?

It's up to the individual, of course, though all your friends don't have the same tastes when it comes to "friending". There are a lot of new rules around the modern manners of social network etiquette. I've not heard people take offense by waiting to "friend" on Facebook, but I have heard people being taken by surprise by getting a friend request and invitations to hang out soon when you just met within the last 24.

I admit I have done this, but it was in the event that there were no business cards, or we somehow talked about becoming Facebook friends to stay in touch. That way, there's no surprise.

I know some people who won't "friend" you until you've hung out multiple times, and they can consider you a friend more than an acquaintance.

To that extent, if you are new to the whole Facebook thing, you don't have to accept any friend invitations from people you know and those you don't know. If I don't want to "friend" someone I simply ignore the request. Go on and be social. You can!