So, what's the deal with "so"?

Mini-rant.

It's really started to grind my gears when people begin a statement, orally or in writing, with "So, . . ."

When did this become a meme?

This meaningless introduction has become epidemic in some of the internet forums I look in on.

So . . . give it a rest.

While I'm ranting . . . 

I believe the baseball card forums in which I participate would lose half their postings if the word "cool" was banned.