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September 29, 2005
Facebook: the site that keeps you clicking
So the bright young things have a new way to be virtually connected: facebook. Part yearbook, part xanga profile, facebook is a fascinating combination of narcissism, voyeurism, and serendipitous discovery. The magic key is a school-related e-mail address. If yours doesn't end with the domain of a registered college, you're out of luck.
Intrigued by the hubbaloo, Noel and I set up profiles; we've been clicking amusedly through ever since. The lure of the facebook experience is difficult to completely unpack. There's the selfish joy of self-disclosure without the upkeep demanded by a blog. (You can fill out as many or as few of the profile questions as you wish.) You can search for and reconnect (however superficially) with old high school buddies who went to school in California while you stayed in Tennessee. You can create "groups," mini-communities of other facebookers who share your interests, however obscure they may be. After all, every school needs a "People Who Like Norse Mythology Way Too Much" club. And, I admit, it's nice to find out that there are, indeed, two other people who listen to the Decemberists.
But there's also the weird, junior-high-inspired experience of "Jane says your her friend. Confirm or reject?" (Though, unlike junior high, she never has to know if you say "no.") Couple that with the inevitable pressure -- and occasionally unofficial contest -- to see who has the most "friends" and you may just experience freshman year flashbacks.
As interesting as the current social implications are, I'm even more intrigued by what could be the next generation of facebook. This "online community" could -- and likely soon will -- integrate other "personal stuff aggregators" like Flickr and Last Fm. The fun comes when you realize that those services remove some degree of user control. If your facebook profile was to randomly rotate every Flickr photo you have tagged with "me," it would be harder to make sure that the cute boy in your literature class only sees that sultry prom pic you like so much. And even though you claim to be the biggest Wilco or Arcade Fire fan, everyone -- thanks to Last Fm -- will be able to see that you just spent the last two hours listening to Dave Matthews Band.
Ooh.
Culture, Yo | By elissa | 08:16 PM
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Comments
I, so far, have bravely resisted the pressure to be on facebook. Even though I have partaken in every other identity-affirming web service I've come across (i.e., Xanga, Flickr, and Last.Fm). And I do apologize for that fragment; it even ends with a preposition. Horrid.
Your last sentence and "Ooh." made me giggle aloud.
Posted by: hannah s. at September 29, 2005 10:44 PM
I facebook!
Posted by: Adam at September 30, 2005 02:05 PM
