James Cordero uses it to find musicians to perform at parties he organizes in New York City. Sharon Engelstein uses it to network with other artists like herself around the country. And Mary Janacek used it to meet her boyfriend Eric, who is a teacher in Los Angeles. It is Friendster, an online network that grew wildly this year by helping people meet new friends and lovers by connecting them to their friends' friends, and their friends too.
The site is the brainchild of former Netscape engineer Jonathan Abrams, who christened friendster.com last March. The free site has already...