September 9, 2006
Facebook - The Aftermath
There was no rebellion. There was no boycott. All that’s left is settling dust and fading energy towards a virtual cause in a dark corner of the internet. Mark Zuckerberg (creator of Facebook) has responded in an open letter to the community saying they were sorry to have rushed the changes without much explanation or control. Today, new changes were implemented which allow users to remove some of the actions that are recorded on the News Feed. I’m happy about these changes. In part because I didn’t want to see the News Feed go, and in part because I did want to see the anti-Feed groups go. At least, I hope that all the groups disband but some of their demands are a little more serious…
FACEBOOK EITHER CHANGE YOUR STALKERISH WAYS OR WE (ALL STUDENTS) LEAVE
If News Feed is still on my Facebook in October, I’m gone!
I’m deleting my account in 30 days if facebook still has the feed feature
Sept. 12 The Day Without Facebook
Of course, to believe anything you read on Facebook is kinda silly, except personal information. That’s usually true. Facebook harnesses the mob mentality that works so well for protests and spits it out in a one-click fashion that requires less effort than, say, marching on Washington. You don’t even have to lift a finger to show how dedicated you are to your cause. Well, I guess you have to lift one finger, but it’s probably on it’s way down from your nose anyway so that’s almost zero extra effort. Some new groups have formed on Facebook to harness this pure people-saving energy for such causes as AIDS research, cancer research, donating to starving children in Africa. Actually… I don’t suppose there’s a way to tell if people are doing anything after joining the groups, but at least they’ve put part of their precious profile space aside for a new group with a noble cause. Or noble intentions, anyway. Or noble idle thoughts, perhaps… Or boredom.
It’s true, I may be prejudiced towards college and high school students now that I’ve graduated but, can you really blame me? I mean, do you believe that fighting for modifications to a website is really worthy of being called Generation Y’s way to stick it to the man? Is this our big moment? The war protests, strikes, sit-ins, women’s rights, all rolled up into an internet phenomenon at the click of a button? Is our cause so great? Were their causes so trivial?
This is all very strange. Especially after reading that last paragraph. People actually do believe these things. News stories are popping up everywhere claiming this is the mobilizing force for the youth of America, the kick in the pants to get students hungry for change. That just boggles my mind. My mind… is terribly boggled.
I hope this is my last post about Facebook for a long time. I’d be plenty happy using the service in silence without hearing about 20 new groups that my friends are joining because they “hate the new Facebook.” I’d also be plenty happy not using the service at all. Well, if it wasn’t for all the people…
