...that might be the question. Or it's the question of the morning, at least.
I am someone who actively hid from the high school reunion people for 15 years. I am not kidding about this. My view is that I am still in touch with the people I want to continue to know from my past. I've enjoyed having a common first and last name in the Google age: you might as well try to find your old pal Brian Anderson, David Jackson, Scott Richardson, or Robert Stephenson. Good luck!
And don't get me wrong: I make all kinds of online friends and have for years, even before the advent of the web (yeah, that's right... I am online old school). But that online "friending" is centered on thematic shared interests such as banjo playing, International Harvester Scouts, Hammond Organs, delicious new pop music, or vintage stereo equipment. It's not based on, well... my face, which is not exactly my most favoritest attribute.
Pals have encouraged me to do the Facebook thing. You're in charge of who you "friend," they say. (Making the word "friend" a verb really seems to cheapen it, don't you think?). But do I really want to be in a position to say "no." Do I really want to get in touch with old girlfriends? That's what you do when you're newly divorced, going through a mid-life crisis, or just plain up to no good.
So I am torn about this Facebook thing. Now that Kathy's starting a new career, she's going to jump in and Facebook, which makes total sense. I don't mind old high school buddies or old boyfriends finding her (or her finding them for that matter). I'm just not sure if that's a distraction that I want for me right now.
Still, many of my pals love Facebook and get a lot out of it. What's my problem? I don't think Facebook is stupid (I do think Twitter is stupid). I think I might just not have the requisite self esteem to walk out into Facebook, which feels a lot like the middle school gym floor without my hobbies, favorite records, and workplace pretentions to make me feel safe.
8 comments:
Twitter is awesome. Facebook is stupid. That is all :)
ag (aka @firkon)
I only did it because I was helping develop an app for it at work. Don't bother. There are much better things to do with your time. I had an idea for a high school reunion though, but theater based instead of class based. What do you think?
i signed up a few months ago because all (and I mean all) of our younger members use it. I hoped to use it to increase the chances that my stuff reaches as many members as possible.
I thought'd let me post info on the MEA FB page, but there are at least 2 different kinds of organizational pages, and MEA chose one that makes is tough to post documents, although we can send out a message to every member that has signed up to our group. We have 830 friends so far. They will see what we send them this way much more often if we tried to contact them any other way.
You can join a group called "I used to eat at El Azteco underground" and pick up any recipe you like (I posted the chip dip recipe)
I also broke the rules and figured out how to put up a Brady profile. Check out his interests under "Info." http://ja-jp.facebook.com/people/Brady-Thedawg/1380607639 (this is the Japanese site version. That dog is HUGE in Japan!)
Okay, i just checked and you can see the MEA page but not Brady's.
That's a shame because Brady's is really cleaver.
Also, not that you'd want to, but my profile automatically reproduces the first paragraph of any blog entry I write (on my blog).
PS: i'm signed in here as a google blogger but I've still got to verify these posts. and it usually takes three tries to pull it off. sheesh!
Greg you just forced my to join that Facebook group. There should be an El Azteco merit badge or something. (Steve still gets a badge regardless of how many times I heard him say, "no frijoles."
^ Pardon the delete - broken link. :(
Here's the workaround to the friend-not-really-a-friend dilemma: confirm the friend invitation, then immediately put the person into a group you've set up that can't see anything but your profile. They'll just think you never post anything.
I've got five different privacy levels. Only one person has had to go into the see-nothing group, a co-worker from 30 years ago who started sending all kinds of application requests and annoying me with comments like "lol I didnt know u drove a ford lol what happend to your dodge charger lolol."
Sheesh. And as for Twitter:
http://wildeboomerz.blogspot.com/2009/04/tweeting-ourselves-to-death.html
78rpm,
I agree with the post you linked to--Twitter's usefulness is based mostly on who you follow. The fact that people follow my tweets is what confuses and terrifies me.
BTW, I'm having my honors students read Amusing Ourselves to Death. I'll be interested to see what their reaction is.
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