Facebook.com

  Guelph, Ontario, Canada
Sunday, April 29, 2007

This morning was bright. Early, but good. I watched a bad movie and fell asleep early last night with the boys all crashed out around me. I dreamt fervently last night. I kept waking up and falling back into sleep and dreams. Before I fell asleep, I was thinking about Facebook.com, so maybe that's why my dreams were so screwed up!

Facebook.com is the most popular social networking site right now. I have been getting Facebook.com invites daily as more and more people are getting addicted-ahem-signed up! In February of 2007, Facebook.com was the 36th most visited site on the web with 16.7 unique visitors every, single day! Now let's lay it all down here and please feel free to leave your thoughts about Facebook.com and why you love it/hate it. I don't want to offend anyone, believe me! Perhaps there is an inherent fear in me about these kinds of things! I'm not really sure. I do know that Facebook can be fun and positive in many ways. OK? I'm admitting it! Now, I've been 'Anti' for awhile. Hold on, hold on! Just let me finish. Chances are if you are a human, and you are reading this blog, b/c you do get on your PC and read stuff, you've been on Facebook.com which is all the rage now and has grown hugely in popularity, even more so after the Virginia Tech shootings.

If you've been on Facebook, you've likely experienced some kind of addictiveness to it and have surfed that site inside and out looking for this person and that, checking out what they've been doing since grade two, looking at co-workers' profiles and pretty much just being totally and completely voyeuristic! Now, there's nothing wrong with voyeurism in my opinion, and it can be fun to check out what other people are saying and doing, and who are in their connected 'groups'.

There are many pros and also cons of the Facebook.com. When the site was first launched in 2004, the privacy settings were minimal and that posed some problems for some students. For example;

Now that privacy settings have been upgraded after many complaints to the sites developer, things have changed. Account holders have alot more control over who can access their information. For example, you have to accept someone as a 'friend' on the site before they can look at your personal information which was a much needed upgrade and a definite bonus in terms of personal saftey. I have noticed however, that there are people who do post very personal data such as their addresses, phone numbers and other info that could pose a threat. Say someone held a grudge from college, highschool, or even gradeschool. That's a looong time to hold a grudge, but it happens! Who's to say that person couldn't get accepted as your 'friend' and delve into your personal information and god-forbid, hunt you down and get revenge. Yeah, that's a pretty exaggerated hypothetical, but I wouldn't underestimate people too much. You never know and it's better to be safe then sorry. the term 'e-stalker' didn't come from nowhere.

The bottom line is this; online social networks have changed the way people interact and are changing the way people have relationships. I suppose because I grew up when the information highway was just gaining popularity, this kind of thing scares me a bit. I like to catch up with people in person. I don't need nor want to know every move they make. These days there are people interacting with friends more online then they do in person. Are we really that busy? Or is it just that it's so easy to flick on the 'ole PC and jump onto a site b/c normally, where ever you are these days, there's bound to be a PC or laptop within a very short distance! Is email just not good enough? Is it not interactive enough? It has been for me. I have not ound myself wanting for more. Yet! Facebook.com does offer the ability to share photo albums, merge blogs, keep track of friends. The downside is there is no music, no video, and surprisingly no chatroom! How odd for a networking site.

The only thing I think is really lame about Facebook.com is the "gifts' you can buy people in the form of these icons that come at a price of a buck each. is that a buck US? I think this is weird, and a totally senseless waste of money. Paying to give your friends icons? C'mon now. Buy your friend a card or something! If you go on Facebook, cool (for you! Haha) but are you buying into this malarkey? Pardon the pun, but seriously, people must have way better things to spend their money on besides icons!? So, is this how it goes? Whomever has loads of them must have loads of friends too and so we're boiling it down to one giant popularity contest? That is, well, pretty silly if you ask me, but that's just, like, my opinion man. That's really the only thing I'd trash about that site. The other things are more concerns.....

Collin joined the day before yesterday. I was surprised! He says it's an 'experiment. We'll see eh Collin? You'll be over in no time, telling me about all these people you've 'found'!! I'm tempted though. I've expressed my views and many say I'm just being silly and open an account already! I've seen certain friends on Facebook.com and been surprised that they're even on the site! Ahem-Jen.

I'm still deliberating. When I went on with my cousin the last week, we went through our old grade school group and it was pretty neat to see what some of those folks are up to, I will admit that. One girl we were classmates with uploaded a ton of photos from some of the classes we were in. Blast from the past alright. Sooo, IF I do end up joining, just to see what all the fuss is about, I'll let you know. I'm still holding out right now, and like all fads, maybe this one will pass. Or maybe, just maybe, Facebook.com is here to stay! I can just imagine having kids one day who have all these different profiles on different networking sites. Will I be a nosy mum and check them out? Well, it's public stuff, right?!

The Hazzards of Facebook's Social Experiment

Students Punished for Facebook Posting

*Above are just a couple of articles to paruse if you feel like it.

I'm done with Facebook for today! I got all this on my mind while on a the trail with Jasper early this morning. I was thinking about what a dichotomy it was; me in nature and observing all the gifts all the while thinking about Facebook.com and how cyberspace was the farthest thing away from what I was doing at the time! The trails are a block from our house which is just awesome. Everything is turning so green now so I took the trusty Fuji with me and snapped a few off. I realized what a sucker I am for anything textured and lined. The lines the trees create while standing together, the interestingly patterned bark and how green the grass has become so quickly it seems. The very green moss growing on the tree stumps and rocks.Normally Jasper stays close enough to me, but at one point I lost the little dog's location. I called and called but to no avail. I turned back and walked along the riverbank until I found him. He was stuck in the water , crying softly because he couldn't lift himself up onto solid ground! He looked pretty relieved when I came to save the day! It's so nice to see him run amok among such a lovely backdrop. It makes me feel good to know I can still afford him a pretty nice life for a dog.