WE TAKE A LOOK AT THE NEWER AND MORE POPULAR F-WORD: FACEBOOK
Facebook is a force. Even if you are not on Facebook, you are probably well aware of it. One in every fourteen earthlings is a disciple in the Facebook religion, and the congregation just keeps growing in numbers.
The fact is that Facebook was not even an idea when the 21st century began ten years ago. But its impact since its 2004 inception is the stuff of legends.
These days Facebook is a little more complicated than a simple social network.
The rules of engagement have changed as Facebook becomes a part of many people's lives. Thus a few questions and controversies have arisen in the process.
Perhaps the most contentious question is how much should a Facebooker leave on the table in their posts. Most people stay within a safe boundary of everyday posts about their daily activities.
Then there are people who are willing to reveal a great deal of information about their personal lives. Nothing is off the table in their Facebook world. They hate their job, they hate their boss, they hate their dog, or maybe they love too much and too many outside of their marriages. Facebook doesn't care-it is a simple recording device for human trial and error.
Personally we are glad that Facebook did not exist back in the day when most of us were so capable of numerous very bad decisions that absolutely did not need to be recorded for posterity. We dodged a bullet in terms of technology by virtue of our Dark Ages birth certificates.
The upside to Facebook is that it shrinks the world. Most of us have international Facebook friends that would have lived and died as complete strangers in a pre-Facebook world. These days, regular contact with these people means that you get to know them in a fairly solid fashion- or at least the Facebook character on the other end of the post.
Facebook can bring together an international community of like-minded people with a common bond of mutual interest. It may be Frank Sinatra, it may be seal hunting techniques, but ultimately you will find people who share your hobbies or bizarre proclivities on Facebook.
The rise of Facebook has also become a contentious workplace issue as people immerse themselves in Facebook instead of job-related activities. The downside for employers is the obvious loss of production from paid employees that are on their clock. Few if any bosses are ok with a day devoted to Farmville on their nickel-unless their staff's job is to invent new Farmvilles.
Speaking of Farmville and others of this ilk, many of us are not overly familiar with these games, other than their inclusion on people's pages. The lack of familiarity is probably where we will leave these activities, as most people take a pro or con view on them in terms of personal interest.
At its simplest level, Facebook is an effective way to communicate in a very basic fashion with the people in your social circles. It's kind of a bulletin board for people. At its rapidly advancing complex level, it will shape the way you live and work in the real world of the future.
The real world just beyond the outskirts of Farmville.
Jim Sutherland @mystarcollectorcar.com
