I was a late convert to Facebook, the social-networking site that turned five years old Wednesday. I joined about a year ago at age 47, swept up in the massive wave of people turning the corner to the back nine of life, and pitifully trying to do what comes so naturally to our sons and daughters. My own 16-year-old, Grace, literally cried from embarrassment when I told her I was signing up, and she begged me through her tears not to do it. When it was clear that I was serious, she made me promise never to "friend" her. Since I didn't know what that meant at the time, I agreed. Last week I redeemed myself in her eyes, because I signed off of Facebook forever--or at least until Tuesday.

I had one of those Hallmark movie moments. I was sitting here at work thinking up my next pithy "status update," which is where you broadcast to all your online buddies in a few words what you're up to at that very moment--and finally came to my senses. "What the hell have I become?" I cried.

So goodbye 157 Facebook friends, 75 of whom I wouldn't recognize if I saw you on the street. Goodbye super nifty "Pieces of Flair" application, and the 1,332,359 members of the "I Don't Care How Comfortable Crocs Are, You Look Like a Dumbass" Crocs-hater group. Goodbye, William and Mary alums I barely remember from 25 years ago. Not you, Tom, the other Tom. Hello to actually working at my job again. Well, a little anyway. I wouldn't have been able to write this story about quitting Facebook if I didn't quit Facebook because I wouldn't have had the time.

READ THE FULL STORY HERE.

Welcome to the debut of our newest consumer tech blog, "American Geek." My name is N'Gai Croal, and I'm a senior writer for technology here at Newsweek who also pens the monthly "American Geek" column in our print edition. When my editors asked me to describe my proposed blog, here's what I told them:

The American Geek blog sits at the intersection of technology, culture and lifestyle. It will be accessible and knowing at once, clear without being condescending or appearing to dumb things down. The tone will sometimes be wry, sometimes playful, excited by the potential of technology but appropriately skeptical of individual product, with a bias towards products, services and culture that are a genuine fit with our lifestyles. Expect it to be somewhat tilted to the guy end of the tech and culture spectrum--notable Blu-Ray releases; geek-leaning films like "Watchmen" and "Star Trek," etc.--but not offensively so.

Looking this description over, I still don't think it captures everything that I'd like "American Geek" to be. My premise is that we are all geeks now, as we TiVo our television shows; listen to our personalized Pandora radio stations; and Twitter the day away by sharing snippets of our lives with a few hundred of our closest friends. That's the terrain that I and my colleagues who'll be joining me on this blog would like to map, bit by bit, day by day. So check back regularly for our updates, and be sure to let us know what you think in the comments.