Now, when I want to hop from a mad game of Scrabble to check on my mafia, I am forced to re-route through my FB home page... hmm... Why would the Facebook masters implement this solution? Perhaps to pad the number of clicks or homepage visits in their metrics? Seems like a detour to me, and adds to the hassle and time commitment the service requires.
And, make no mistake, folks are starting to change their view on Facebook, even as the service itself evolves. What was once an intimate, insiders-only service is now mainstream and muddled. Are all 284 of my "friends" really that well-connected? No.
I used to appreciate the small-group feel of Facebook. And, as my network has expanded, I've been happy to reconnect with folks from my past, but in the process this online community more nearly represents my offline social connections, with levels of importance, connection, and sharing varying widely. I've got friends - online and offline - with whom I rarely interact. There are others who are on the "pretty frequently" cycle. And then there are the select few, with whom connecting is a daily or even hourly activity.
Guess what? This tight-knit group, the ones with whom I'm so connected... They are the same group that was first over the wall with me on Facebook years ago, the same early Twitter adopters whom I follow & follow me, the same folks on speed dial for my phone. Turns out, good friends are good friends, regardless of the tools used to maintain the relationship.
As for Facebook? Well, I'll keep using it, for now, but I can foresee the moment when I just decide it's not necessary to keep up with good friends. At which point, it'll be come a less frequent, less relevant part of my online day. Facebook could become Plaxo-esque, a repository of contact info and occasional interaction. For some, it's already lost relevance. How about for you?
The timing of your entry is rather coincidental. It's not ironic; that misuse of grammar always bugs me. Just last night a friend texted me to let me know a previously shared Facebook friend felt quite slighted for me having 'unfriended' them. My rationale was since this person was someone with whom I had never interacted with when we were on Facebook and our only connection was grade school, they'll probably never notice my twice yearly 'closet-cleaning' of friends on Facebook.
ReplyDeleteApparently I was wrong. I didn't have the heart to explain to our mutual friend that one of the other reasons I 'unfriended' them was they named one of their children after a stadium in Chicago in which their favorite baseball team plays. No, his name isn't US Cellular; think the other side of the city. Although it probably speaks more to my pettiness and imaptiemce, I found myself flabergasted that someone would name their child after a chewinggum product. I sure hope he likes baseball. Anyway, that level of self-centerdness, combined with zero interaction led me to the unfriending.
It seemed to bother her; I didn't think twice about it.
Hope all is well.