Facebook: The First Reflection

There are many things to say about Facebook. I used to resist Facebook. I was too cool for it. Oftentimes I am too cool for things I do not yet understand. But then my friend Mike--well he prefers to be called Stumpy so let's go with that. Stumpy was all about Facebook. I crashed at his place a couple nights before I moved to New York. Both mornings he got up around 7:30, leaving me alone in his warm bed, and immediately checked Facebook. I mocked him. "Did something exciting happen on Facebook between 12:30 and now? It's kind of unhealthy to check out pictures of your sister's friends this early in the morning." Etc.

But then slowly Facebook drew me in. Before long I was its spawn. I craved status updates and wall postings more than Stumpy's knowing glance of desire. Does that sound gay at all? I just like to mess with Stumpy. Ah, Stumpy. You are manna for our souls. We drink of your wine.

Stumpy/Mike is a good guy. You would like him Mr. Internet. You would like him a lot. He can help you with technology things you don't understand. He has a good heart despite the slings of insensitive people around him (like me). Wait, this isn't about me. This is about SMike. Actually it's about Facebook. Maybe this is a postmodern post. Give me a minute to look up postmodern. Hmm it says "ironic self-reference and absurdity." And "involving a radical reappraisal of modern assumptions about culture, identity, history, or language."

Maybe I shouldn't use words like that anymore. At the very least I shouldn't look them up. Although I may have the first part right. Ironic self reference. Hmm. Ironically referencing oneself. I have the most widely read blog on the Internet. That's not the kind of thing I would say. It's good to have these ideas written down though. We'll put them in the stew and see if they resurface later.

Anyway, Facebook. What is its most compelling draw? Is it the chance to be social in ways our day to day lives don't allow for? Or is it the chance to express ourselves in a broader format than our day to day lives? I have to think the answer is some variation or in some way related to these 2 concepts. Is it a bad thing if it's about our egos? Is it a sad thing if it provides social solace we don't otherwise attain?

Or maybe it's just fun. But I think it's deeper than fun. It hits on basic human needs and desires. It's all in there. It's probably the closest thing to mirroring our real lives that we've yet found on the Internet. It allows us to catalog ourselves. It allows us to become fledgling marketers. How do I want others to see me? What will I say about myself? What will I say to other people?

It's not as ephemeral as day to day life because it's documented. We've used that word before on this blog so it's now in the lexicon and will be used at all possible occassions. So is lexicon. My friend Clay brought up a good point--the pictures and words we see on Facebook do not come close to representing who we are as individuals. It's fairly easy to scan someone's profile and send a note--"Great to catch up with you, glad all is well!" Smiling photos do not mean all is well. Most people aren't going to publish personal anguish. So in some ways, Facebook is life watered down. Which might be another one of its draws. It's like heading out to the movies for a break, except the screen reflects pieces of who we are. But just pieces.