Importance of Facebook

I had a birthday party last Saturday. I won't say which one.

I did something that I did not think I would ever do. The entire invitation was through Facebook – the people I invited as well as the details. However, there are a few people that I know that are not on Facebook. Shocking yes. When I ran into them, I realized that hadn't invited them to the party. I felt awful and worked on rectifying the situation in the way I knew how – I had to friend them.

I ran into this article today on Andrew Sullivan's blog basically saying that if you aren't on Facebook, there's a good chance you don't exist today. In my mind, that was certainly the case. I'm not sure if it's a sad state of the times or just the reality of living in today's socially networked world.

End of Introversion and Extroversion

One of my many blog subscriptions is PR 2.0 where the author, Brian Solis, breathlessly calls the increasing 'socialization' of our society one reason for the end of the polar opposites of extroversion and introversion. And I quote:

I do believe that we are becoming an increasingly social society. It could very well be the era of introversion to extroversion. With this evolution and transformation, we’re concurrently subject to a greater set of distractions. And as such, we are sidetracked by choice and free will. But, as this is the dawn of the great attention economy, and new tools such as PeopleBrowsr, Seesmic, CoTweet, Facebook, and TweetDeck become our attention dashboards, those of us active in the real-time Web must experience an evaporation of attention span and our ability to digest and respond to everything that moves us.

The problem here is the definition of extroversion and introversion. The two relate to energy, not degree of socialization. Someone who is extroverted craves the energy of people. They need to be surrounded by people or else they feel 'off' in some way. An introverted person is the opposite; they need alone time to recharge their batteries. That doesn't mean they don't enjoy socializing; it's just that too much of that one thing makes them tired.

I'm an introvert. Although I have taught myself to be good in social situations, after a day of socializing I want quiet more than anything else. I don't see anything in 'social' media that rewrites that definition. I bet that most people who are extroverted never tire of telling the world everything. My most extroverted friends update their Facebook status constantly. Introverts are more likely to engage with social media more sporadically or in a more planned fashion.

Of course this is conjecture but it would be an interesting study to analyze the difference between the two personality traits and their engagement in social media.

Facebook I vs. We

When one is in a relationship, one becomes accustomed to referring to oneself as part of a 'we.' "We are going to the mall." "We adopted the dog a few months ago." "We just got back from vacation."

One area where I do not understand the role of 'we' is Facebook. I would say about a third of my partnered friends use pictures of them and their partners in their profile pictures. Sometimes even the kids are included.

I don't get it.

To me, Facebook is fundamentally about the 'I.' What are YOU doing? What are YOU thinking about? Even if an activity is shared with people – from friends to kids – it's still experienced as on an individual level and it's that angle that is shared on Facebook.

It seems troubling to me that the only way that you can deal with others as an individual is to remind them that you are one of a unit.

Then again, I could just be grumpy single guy.

Cornflower

Cornflower
Originally uploaded by chrissie2003

Someone put together a 'what color are you' quiz on Facebook. Cornflower blue is my color. So this posting is in honor of this 'colorscope'. The listing is below...

"Hey it's ok, don't be fooled by this powder blue color. One first sight people look at you and think you are just good looking and they're right, but there is much more they dont see on the surface. You enjoy life and know how to have fun, but when you have a job to do, you get it done and never falter"

Portable Social Graphs - Imagining their Potential

I'm combing through my Social Networking blogs and found this presentation on SlideShare, authored by Shiv Singh of Razorfish, that talks about the potential impact of Facebook Connect. I've mentioned before that FB as an authentication layer for applications like banking could potentially go a long way in overcoming consumer security fears. 

One of the sections in this deck I found most interesting was the idea of connecting iTunes and Facebook. This connection would make it easier to share music you like with friends. It would also offer a way of narrowing reviews to people in your social circle and inspiring people who may not normally review things to participate. Interesting deck and well worth the read.  

Sharing and Caring

It seems as though all of my friends on Facebook are sending me and one another '25 Random Things About Me.' It's amazing how a very simple exercise can have such a dramatic impact. I've learned a lot about people that I knew but perhaps didn't know as well due to the nature of our connection – friends of friends, co-workers, people I met recently etc. It is also an interesting exercise to undertake.

I wish more stuff like this moved around the Facebook universe instead of the craplets that everyone seems to send. I love the idea of sending a digital stuffed teddy bear but paying for it is insane. 

Getting 'served' via Facebook

I'm doing a lot of social media research today and I've come across an interesting article. A judge in Australia allowed legal papers to be served to a defendant through Facebook. The defendant was proving difficult to reach and since the person in question was Facebook friends with others in the trial, the judge allowed it to happen.

There are all sorts of legal issues standing in the way of this being standard practice but it's an interesting phenomena. In a study that I completed recently on consumer banking, fear of identity theft was one of consumer's top concerns. Given the mass appeal of Facebook, I wondered if Facebook could play the role of authenticator when circumstances warrant it. 

As an example, one could use one's Facebook login to enter their bank site and authenticate transactions online and offline. Given that Facebook is an extension of one's person, versus an abstraction of one's person, why not. I do hope security gets beefed up significantly before we go in this direction. Also this be something that's standardized, not an adhoc situation created by random judges like this one. 

Hat tip [All Facebook]