FACE DANCES TONIGHT – THE ODD FACEBOOK PHENOMENON


By JOHN YOUNGREN

So, what are you doing – RIGHT NOW?

And, while we’re at it, I have 213 Facebook friends. How many do you have?

I’m 43 years old and have long since passed the point when I should say, be worried about me and who likes me. Certainly, I shouldn’t care how many friends I have.

But this Facebook stuff? I can’t get enough – literally.

I check it like 37 times a day. I check it for status updates and new notifications and new friends requests and new causes. I check it because sometimes I’m just sitting there at my computer, anyway, waiting for a phone call or an e-mail from some client or co-worker and what else am I supposed to do? I check it again.

I tell people I got into Facebook because of my job – because “a bunch of the kids” at my office were doing it and convinced me to do the same a year or so ago. I tell people I got into it because I work in advertising and public relations and we need to know what’s going on in this social networking world. I tell people it’s not that I’m into it – but it’s just a way of communication with many people at once. I tell people all these things, but I know: At first, I tried MySpace, which I still maintain, but a couple of the college kids interning for me told me that it was a non-starter. They were the first to point me to Facebook, and now nearly everyone I know is there or experimenting with it and I watch with amazement.

Here’s what’s cool about Facebook: Reconnecting with friends, both young and old, whom you may or may not have spoken to in a decade. Everyone’s aged, everyone’s scattered, but now we have the central kind of town hall where we can come together and reconnect, whether it’s been a day, a month or a decade ago.

Here’s what’s weird about Facebook: Connecting with people in your current life who happen to be part of your Facebook “what’s my status?” orbit. I see a colleague on Monday and I know that they were “Drunk and partying!” all weekend. I catch up with a friend personally, but am well aware that they’re feeling “Hungover, Dude!” at Monday’s dawn. It’s like being in a parallel universe. I am somewhat aware of how you feel and what you want, but you haven’t told me these things directly – but oh, yes, I was aware of your status updates over the past 48 hours.

“Hi, Facebook friend,” is what I say when I see a “live” person in which I’m having a “Facebook relationship.”

Since I started Facebooking, I’ve launched three groups – one for my high school graduating class, one for my current place of employment and one for Spuds MacKenzie Fans, because I thought such a group needed to exist. But, really? I can see why my high school and office crews might want to stay in touch, but the partying Bud Light dog of the mid-80s? I’ll even admit it: I started this group because I could.

So, what else? I’ve connected with ex-girlfriends, bosses, clients, enemies and frenemies. I count local celebrities in my group. I stare everyday at the “what are you doing now?” box and try to come up with something pithy, something borrowed, something blue. It’s like doing a one-joke stand-up routine in front of, in my case, 213 friends, some of whom may or may not connect with my comments enough to offer approval, applause and/or ascension.

The strangest thing that can happen is running into someone who is following your Facebook profile and updates and chooses to confront you about it off-line, as in, “I saw you didn’t get lunch today,’ or, “What happened after that meeting didn't go so well?”

Facebook is, undoubtedly, a 2008 phenomenon. My guess is, it will only continue to grow. And, in an original draft of this little essay, I tried to become all ponderous and make up some bogus philosophy about the parallel universe that is Facebook. But then I became distracted. Because I'm up to 223 friends (I realize -- it's not a competition, just an exhibition.)

But still, what do you think about that?


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ON THE DOT: Now back in business (with a modified rating system) the “John Youngren Dot Com” blog (once known as “Pop Stew”) should be updated regularly. And remember, as always, this is just an exhibition; it is not a competition – so please, no wagering. To contact John, e-mail johnyoungren@mac.com