Are you an introvert? I'm pretty introverted, I have a good deal of social anxiety, but not quite agoraphobia. I think one of the scariest thing about trying to talk to someone you've never met is not knowing anything about them. I can't just go up to someone and say "Hey, how 'bout them giants" unless I know they are a Giants fan.

Color provides this weird insight into people's lives you wouldn't normally get. It's what I absolutely loved about facebook in 2005, I made some awesome friends that way, who often happened to be introverts, and eventually people got up tight about it and locked stuff down.