Facebook

Today I would like to discuss Facebook, the other other internet phenomenon that never ceased to mystify me. Just like MySpace. They all boast of great popularity, many many cultural and everyday-life references, and the premise of networking.

The evolution of online "friendship" site is never-ending. The first one I was involved with (as long as I can remember) was AsianAvenue. That's where I learned my basic HTML and "added friends" from godknowswhere. That's where I went into Japanese chatrooms and pretended like everyone else there that I am genuinely a Japanese culture afiscionado (sp?), basically no one there were Japanese, and everyone wanted to talk to this Takeshi Kaneshiro-lookalike, nicknamed Keshi. Then there were others, but they are blurry in my mind. I went into Fantawa for the most of my late teenage/early 20s era. Again, self gratification and "writing" and "making friends". I did make some friends, though, people I admire. There were a bunch of stuff I joined after that, things like Friendster and hi5 (if anyone can remember any, please remind me). Then there was MySpace. To me it sounds a lot like AsianAvenue, but I have never used it so I don't know. Then there was Facebook, which was limited to alumini only. I think that's the beginning of its downfall, the day it opened its door to the preening public.

It is almost like high school advanced, you see who you know, and you see who the ones you know, know. A big who's-who in your "network". Self-gratification to the utmost degree, when you "write on walls" and talk about gossip you talked about online the next day with your real-life friends, whose walls y'all enjoyed doodled on. With MySpace and AsianAvenue there were at least spaces you could express your individuality by posting stuff... with Facebook it is all consolidated into Album and Walls and Groups you can join. I personally joined three Starbucks related groups. Call me sad, but it is the god-awful truth.

A request to be friends. A urgent yearning to belong. That's what they are all playing at. And that's all what we are all being played into. I admit I was pleasantly surprised to find two former co-workers, but that ends there. Let's put it this way, Facebook is like a big toilet bowl, and when you flush, you can't help but being sucked into the vortex of friendship and networking.

(Speaking of self-gratification, look who is admiring her own witty remarks about Facebook on her own blog?)