YO BRO IT’S ME LITTY

I was about to write this whole long cutesy post about how Facebook really freaks me out. But I’d rather get right to the point (plus if I wrote another post in yiddish my keppie would explode). I find myself using and enjoying Facebook much less. I consider myself a serious digital sharer, but I’m petrified to post, comment or share on Facebook. It seems kind of pointless. All the people who I care about I communicate with in other ways. It’s virtually impossible to meet new people through Facebook. Therefore I’m just sharing stuff with a bunch of acquaintances – many of whom I don’t know that well and we have no good reason to be so connected.

I’m curious to hear what other people think now that the novelty of social networking has worn off a bit. My hope was that Facebook would evolve into a utility that compliments my actual life. I would receive book recommendations, restaurant reviews, stock tips or learn about local events and activities from my peers – people who have similar interests as me. Instead I just view photos of weddings and summer weekends from people who are trying hard to maintain some kind of mythical social status.

I’ve worked for three years trying to build an online community that has real life value. I am still a very strong believer in that concept. I’m fascinated by websites like Craigslist, Etsy, Kiva and Meetup.

Facebook has become less interesting. It’s a website for your social life. I’ve never been all that interested in my own social life let alone other people’s. It’s like TMZ or Perez Hilton except the subjects are people I actually know. It just kind of seems like a voyeuristic waste of my time. I don’t really enjoy it much and therefore don’t plan to visit the site as often.

Facebook is like the friend you had in high school or college who was really unique and gifted and had lots of potential to do something special. Instead he/she decided it would be easier just to fit in with the cool crowd, party and take it easy. You still like them but it’s a shame he/she didn’t grow into the person you wanted them to be.

I’ve been spending more time on Twitter than Facebook. It has its own faults but it is a heck of a lot more interesting. My friend Jon keeps saying that Twitter is for smart people. I don’t necessarily agree with that but do see his point. Keeping with the high school analogy, twitter is like going to the science fair. Yeah, it’s geeky but you’ll learn a few new things and feel good about yourself. All those people who bash twitter for being so weird and narcissistic should try it. They’ll quickly realize that Facebook is a whole lot weirder and more narcissistic.

That’s all I got for now. I’ll obviously still keep my Facebook account but I don’t plan to do much sharing. You can follow this blog, my twitter feed or better yet, BBM or good old emails. There is value in the intimacy of one to one or targeted direct communication. I’ll continue to hope Facebook matures into something more worthwhile but at this point I’m sick of waiting around for it.