A blog and nothing but since 2003. Some tech, lots of music, and if rambling was money, drinks are on me.
Unscientific social observations: Facebook
The downside of social networks and media software is the weariness that comes with having so much. The weariness sneaks up on you. One second you’re enjoying one great new web software after another, and the next thing you know, you feel to-do list-like weight on your shoulders. Managing this weariness has become an essential skill for anyone who dives into the social media waters, to prevent what experts are calling “Fuck It All” syndrome.
Facebook is obviously a spot where you can feel “Fuck It All” syndrome without ever even having to leave the site. All those applications seem like fun for a while, and the next thing you know, you’re smothered and even typing in facebook.com into your browser starts to bring on the shivers similar to shell shock (apologies to all WWI veterans reading this for such a crass comparison).
There seems to be a definite dividing line of Facebook users who can’t keep up with it all, and it seems to have a lot to do with age. Only it doesn’t go the way you might think. I’ve found that the people on Facebook who find it most interesting and useful are the older ones; people who are much less likely to overload their profiles with every application they see, and more importantly, have a manageable number of friends. They use it to keep in touch with the people who have moved away or who they just don’t see as often as they like.
On the other hand, people who got into Facebook in school are a lot more likely to be burned out. They got into Facebook at a time in life when you added every single person you came in contact with to your friends. Most of the recent college graduates I know have well over 200 friends and some have over 500. And not only that, but they associate Facebook with the dumb fun college shit and start to sour on it as a whole once the notices of the zombie application turn from hilarious to annoying. Meanwhile, the thirty-somethings are reveling in the ability to suddenly be back in constant contact with people they haven’t spoken to in decades.
The lesson to learn for anyone in the Facebook space (especially those new to it, Hans) is to not overdo it, and this goes for any social media. It’s tempting to start a blog and post four times a day or join Twitter and tell everyone everything you’re doing, but doing a lot off the bat heightens the chances that it will start to annoy faster and shortens the time you’ll ever be interested in it.
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April 24th, 2008 at 12:30 am
I’m not all that new to Facebook, I’ve just never gone to the trouble of actually creating a profile and find it friends. Why? Because I brought “Fuck It All” syndrome with me, having already done all of that stuff twice, once on Friendster (oh, those dear old dead days beyond recall) and once on MySpace (ugh). I do mean to get to it. Really, I do, just like I mean to figure out Google Apps (which I’ve joined and which still makes no sense to me), just like I mean to start a new blog, just like I mean to post more on my old one.
I’ve started taking deliberate computer breaks at times when my computer used to be fused to my lap, and I recommend it highly.
April 24th, 2008 at 10:04 am
My thoughts exactly
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/mummery
April 24th, 2008 at 11:38 am
Hans: Oh, that’s right. You’d joined a while ago but only got around to confirming the friends a couple of days ago, I guess? I would say that I got all excited for nothing, but…I stand by my excitement.
I know the feeling about there being too much, but that’s exactly what I mean: I think it’s pretty easy to do a whole lot of the new softwares and social networks, etc. if you go into it with a mild curiosity and take time with it. It’s tempting to go with one of the extremes: either never touching it or going full force.
I think that Facebook is better than both Friendster and certainly MySpace (which I never did much on besides creating a basic profile and then exchanging a few emails). It has MUCH better privacy controls, is easier to keep on top of what your friends are up to and is much better about allowing what you see and what you don’t see. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if in two years, we’re all on to something else, but I do feel that Facebook has more staying power.
By the way, you’ve been using Google Apps for a long time: docs and spreadsheets are part of Apps. It’s just packaging up what you’ve been using under one domain. See, this is where Google’s insistence on the most basic names possible actually confuses things…
LC: the man who puts the “crazy” back in “limousine crazy”.
April 24th, 2008 at 12:49 pm
Reid! IN your FACE, book!
I am with you. but sometimes I F around with the apps and then i realize facebook might have had some of the blame for my LAPTOP doom so i am kinda off the apps. F the apps! bring on the WHAT ARE YOU DOING right now???