Thursday, March 29, 2012

Facebook rules the world


Facebook rules the world, right?
MySpace became passe` the moment that Facebook became the new 'it' site for social networking. Even Twitter cannot compete with the ruling surpremety that is Facebook.
You got something to say, longer than 140 characters, you say it on Facebook.
It's addictive, telling people, some family members and others complete strangers what is going on in your life and letting them comment on it (or 'like' it). We can show them photos and videos about what our life is like in the moment and even check into places we go to.
And if someone isn't on Facebook, or doesn't live for it's status updates, we look at them in wonder, amazed that they choose to stay away from it.
Facebook rules so much of our public opinion. If someone shares something personal, it's immediately open for celebration and ridicule. And ridicule it people will...
As with all popularity, Facebook does have it's nasty underbelly. Bullies are able to use it to torment their victims in new ways, making public humiliation go to new extremes. Teenagers need to feel accepted so they will automatically be'friend' everyone they think they know, and when it backfires, it happens on such a higher scale.
Groups use Facebook closed groups to keep people in the loop, small businesses can create pages to promote themselves and, like on twitter, Celebrities can interact with their fans to whatever level they feel comfortable with.
Over several million people use Facebook, which means, in terms of a network for businesses, it's a market that they should, and do, tap into frequently.

It's safe to say that Facebook rules my world. I use it for work and for play. I have pages for my self-published book and for my business. I update somewhat regularly and comment/ like/ repost where appropriate. If someone tells me something I have already seen on Facebook, I tell them so. I think I know people better when I read their status updates, even though some I haven't had much verbal interaction with, but I never make the assumption that we're the bestest of friends (or in some cases, friends at all) because one of us clicked 'accept' on a friendship request. When I share things, it's because I find them genuinely interesting or because it's related to what I do, not because of a Facebook friendship compels me to.

So yes, Facebook does rule the world, but it is up to it's users to use it's power responsibly.

Facebook logo taken from: http://topnews.com.sg/category/companies/facebook?page=5

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