Facebook is: Friend or Faux

My real friend Peter Davis, who happens to be a facebook phenomenon, said it best, "LIFE IS AN OPEN FACEBOOK." When facebook first started it was for the college kids, but over time it has become the social networking site and official time waster for my generation, which makes total sense.

People in their late 20s through their 40s are really the group who are the biggest users. We have had far more life experiences at this point than the originally intended audience, we've gone to high school, college, grad school, camps, lived in multiple cities, and for someone such as myself, a few careers, so the pool of people we know is that much larger.

It's a little voyeuristic and hedonistic at the same time. It is also an effortless way to pop in on people, who may not speak or email with. It gives us a glimpse of what is going on in there lives. Like a virtual high school reunion or when you are having a house guest, everything has been cleaned and polished, on the surface things seem picture perfect, kind of like photoshopping one's life.

I am a huge supporter of facebook and have had almost all my clients create pages which have been successful and the ease of the software makes for adding content a snap.

I do have 2 pet peeves and they are the "people you may know" section and the fact that everyone gets your status updates. There are certain people who shall remain nameless who i've known for years, who i speak to on occasion who continue to "pop up" on that list of people I may know every single time I log on. There are people who I have no desire to be friends with, one person in particular who continues to ignore my friend requests and one person who has defriended me. I am stable enough in my life that it's really a non-event but I just don't get it.
One of these people is someone who I went to high school with and have worked with professionally in the past, said person is "FRIENDS" with people I know for a fact she is not friends with but won't just click yes on me for whatever reason. She is however "FRIENDS" with some of my clients, which I find to be hysterical because I can still see what's going on in her world, and she hasn't a clue. (A little evil I know.) Regardless of the "non-friend" issue I am sure I'll get the big "faux hello" come the High Holidays, and I will just laugh. Luckily it will be Yom Kippor, and I can atone for this one on the spot.

On the topic of status updates I have become somewhat addicted to them (hopefully this blog will serve as an intervention) but I have a lot of friends on facebook, something like 400, and I don't need some of these "friends"to see some of the things I post. They probably think I am nuts with half the things I put up there, while my real friends find them amusing (well at least I can hope.) There must be a way to choose who can see your updates, no?

As my good friend Lance Levine has said, "309 friends and you're home alone on a Friday Night"

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