FACEBOOKING
15 August 2007

It seems like the Facebook phenomenon is exploding like crazy at the moment. You know when things have become significant when they turn into verbs - and Facebook fulfills this criteria: 'I'll facebook the photo' or 'You can facebook me'. I hear this almost every day now.

Facebook IS great. I love having photos of my friends and people I know on one page - it makes me happy and reminds me if I haven't been in touch with someone for a while. It's also useful for hooking up with old friends or for realising that you live in the same city!

But it does make me wonder: Does facebooking partly replace good oldfashioned physical socialising? Do people actually CALL eachother to TALK on landlines these days? Long phoneconversations seem to be gone.

How much are happy birthday wishes worth on Facebook? If you have a Facebook 'friend' who you wouldn't call up to say happy birthday - but you would send your wishes on Facebook - does the simplicity remove part of how special it feels when someone has made a real effort?

If you are on Facebook on a Saturday or Friday evening - what message does that send to other people? Where/when is the life you are talking about on Facebook? I don't care what people think, but I know other people do. I am actually fearing that some people do more socialising on Facebook that in 'reality' (ok, that depends on how you define 'reality').

But all in all I am positive. Of course all your Facebook friends don't need to be close friends. Acquaintances are in a different category. It's kind of like keeping a register of people you know well, acquaintances and people you have met who you don't know at alll actually. Until you have them on Facebook and get to know them virtually. Win-win situation?