Facing Facebook

Perhaps I'm missing something, or maybe I am simply a product of my generation, but I still don’t see what the attraction is to Facebook. The confusion stated when it was suggested to me that I have a Facebook presence to help promote my film. However, Facebook tells you right up front that it is not to be used for “commercial purposes”. What then?

Upon opening my Facebook account, I immediately began receiving requests from people to be my “friend”. Not wanting to appear rude, I accepted friendship. Of my now several hundred some odd friends, I can count on one hand the friends who I actually and personally know. The rest I believe should be characterized as “acquaintances” or perhaps “contacts”. I have a completely different definition of what I consider a friend. As one comedian recently put it… “A friend is someone who you can phone at midnight to pick you up at the airport”.

I did brifly connect with my sixth grade girl friend, well actually it was more of a crush I had on her back then. But she soon abandoned her Facebook page; apparently some guy she was dating now started stalking her. Well, so much for that.

I don’t get the “applications”, they seem nonsensical to me… and why do they end up wanting my cell phone number so often? (I don’t give that out to anyone but real Friends). Now advertising is weaseling its way into Facebook. I already have a strong opinion about advertising and how it is ruining the internet like it already has ruined TV. I am having enough trouble figuring out what is going on here without dealing with “Click Me Now” come-ons.

I am no Luddite by any means; I blog, construct web sites, and conduct a lot of business online. I don’t care to use Instant Messengers because I don’t feel the need to be “connected” every second simply because I’m awake.

Facebook appears to have little to offer me and I don’t really have any thing useful to contribute to anyone else by my being here. I am wondering if my Facebook page went bye bye if anyone would really notice.

Paradise lost

With several months of “writers block” (hopefully) behind me, I can maybe catch up on some thoughts that have been rolling around in my cranium a while.

My wife recently helped to extricate me from the quagmire I got myself into with Facebook. I had been told that this social network would be a great way to promote my documentary film, “Andrus” – which left me puzzled a bit as Facebook is not actually supposed to be used to sell stuff.

Anyway, I opened a Facebook account and promptly accepted every friend, group and relationship anyone offered me. Hence the, uh… quagmire. So I was more than open to having a helping hand clean up my presence there.

One of the things we added was a reference to my high school; San Carlos High School, class of ’67, to be exact. Now I was never very socially connected in high school, in fact, there was a time in my life when Iactually considered tossing out my high school yearbooks. After all, I’ve never had any interest in attending a reunion; and figured nobody would remember me if I did anyway.

Suddenly, I experienced a renewed interest in my Wonder Years as Facebook began suggesting I connect with other SCHS alumni on the network. I’m straining to figure out just exactly what my connection is to many of the “friends” on my profile, but the high school friends, we were THERE. With the black-and-white senior class pictures to jog my memory, I now remember them… and fondly!

As mentioned, my high school years were not my best… I was socially inept and rather nerdy back then. There’s a lot of blank pages in my yearbook. Yet, the one note I cherish, was written by my track coach, Jim Luttrell – a guy I idolized in high school. Coach Luttrell penned: “Lots of luck in the future. You should do a lot of good in life. Hope you continue running.”

Well coach, I’m sorry to admit that I stopped running right after high school... but the other stuff, well I’m happy to say that all came true.