Om Malik is writing about Facebook’s fascination with Twitter and what a mistake it is to imitate the micro-messaging service. As part of his analysis, he makes a great point about the level of intimacy available on Facebook.
Facebook, by its very nature, is mostly about our past, sometimes about our present, but very rarely about our future. Being symmetric, it’s important that we have some sort of a prior relationship with a person in order to friend them on Facebook. Your classmates, neighbors and the folks you met at a party — these are all relationships from your past. Facebook doesn’t really allow you to discover new people — and that has been the part of its charm (and utility).
I bitch about Facebook a lot, but a small network of real friends and acquaintances (plus some people in your city or industry that you want to meet) is kind of a nice retreat, an online safe place if you will.
I always considered facebook a great thing for college kids. That is why I never joined.
Over the weekend I went out with four adults who have joined facebook. I also have siblings who are on facebook. It is funny that while I do not want to know everything about my grown childen, los of parents of college age kids do. They even start to emulate their behaviour and speech. What is annoying to me is trying to not be a part of facebook, not because it is annoying or anything like that, but just because it is not for me. However, people insist on giving me updates about their facebook kids , nieces, nephews,when they call me on my cellphone.
Is there a word more ubiquitous than ubiquitous?