I don't even remember what it was that sparked my curiosity. But yesterday afternoon, I somehow got to wondering what "facebook" is all about. In order to find out, one has to take the plunge and join. I did that. I set up my Facebook page, and went about the process of trying to figure it out from there. I could do the technical part, of uploading pictures, filling in the blanks about interests, favorite tv shows, etc.
As best I can tell, it is all about being plugged in, connected. Comments from "friends" are a couple of lines long (definitely not as satisfying as an email). As I looked at a couple of people's Facebook sites, it seems to be more about pictures, than communicating. In fact, Yo has multiple photo albums on her site, one for each fascinating trip. One learns quickly that there is a whole culture out there. The thing I'm not sure about is the "friend" part. That involves some difficult decisions. For example, one person became my "friend A". I noticed on her Facebook page comments from a person from my past that I definitely do not care for. So, while I like Friend A, I may not like one of her friends. In fact, if I were honest, I'd say that seeing her picture ruined my mood! In another situation, I might be friendly with one person in a family, and not really another. It is the "friend" business about which I am uncertain.
When one begins, and has a handful of friends, it doesn't take long to notice that other people have hundreds. Lady Gaga has ten million! The competitive nature kicks in and you want to up your numbers. That's a state I don't want to be in.
So my foray into Facebook may be fairly short lived, now that I have some idea of what it is. I also noticed, that in a very short period of time, one can get addicted.
I could instantly tell that I prefer email. And even more, I prefer blogging, which is a "writer's" medium. I think perhaps, Facebook is more for looking, than for communicating.
I'll see how it goes.
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