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.

Illegibility

I live in the shadow of the New Museum of Contemporary Art, New York's newest museum. It's an amazing architectural monument and has energized the neighborhood in ways I never imagined.

On Thursday night, I went to an event called 'Night School.' The lecture was given by the Raqs Media Collective, an Indian trio that explores history, philosophy, research and theory. The topic of Thursdays lecture was illegibility, stammering and shadows. It was a bit dry in spots and I didn't understand everything but it was thought provoking. 

One thing that I latched onto is the term of illegible applied to actions rather than just words. I need to research the case they cited. If anyone knows it, please let me know. The case pitted Native Americans against a logging concern. In the case, the chief gave a vivid oral history of the land in an attempt to spare it from being logged. The judge ruled against the tribe on the grounds that the history was oral and as such impermissible as evidence. Their history was illegible. 

I wonder if one can use the term in consumer research. I began to think about the actions of brands in relation to their customers and applying the term - illegible - to situations where there is a disconnect between the brand's behavior and consumer expectations. When a brand behaves in a manner customers do not understand or  cannot 'read,' its' behavior is illegible or opaque. 

This is just a starting thought but I will explore this topic further in the months ahead.