Did Pompeii Create the First Social Network?

One of the most difficult decisions in talking about the history of any aspect of computing, or even of technology as a whole, is to decide when it started. When, for instance, did social networking begin? With Facebook in 2004? MySpace in 2003? With CompuServe in 1969? How about Pompeii, 79? (No, not 1979 — just 79.) I know. Hacky. But there is some truth to the notion that the walls of the...