Thing 18: Facebook and MySpace

I joined Facebook a couple of months ago because I have a class reunion coming up, and the organizers were trying to get people on Facebook so that they could easily get information out to everyone.  In an effort to be agreeable, I joined somewhat reluctantly.  Not only am I a convert, I also talked my husband and my sister into joining. 

I have friends (more than 3, less than 300), I’ve joined a group (You may be from Lake Placid if...), I’ve written on someone’s wall, I’ve sent Flair, I’ve received 80s Memory Gifts, I’ve posted photos and commented on others’ photos.  Most of all, though, I’ve enjoyed reconnecting with a few friends who I now interact with every week instead of once a year or once every few years.  I’ve enjoyed seeing what the people I went to high school with are up to and seeing at pictures of them and their families.  I can interact with relatives that I don’t get to see often, and some in-laws that I’ve never managed to meet, even after 12 years of marriage.  I can even play Scrabble with my sister and my other friends (my husband won’t play Scrabble with me except once in a great while and under extreme duress).

We’ve also created a Facebook profile for the Library.  I see it as a marketing tool.  Once we build up a group of friends (over 100, now, and growing), it will be an easy way to get word out to a large group of people about Library programs and events.

As far as Facebook being the fastest growing social network, I can’t really say.  There are certainly a lot of people that I’ve come across who have joined very recently.  When you listen to the news, though, it seems like Twitter is the new thing.  Maybe Facebook is out, and Twitter is in...I don’t know, I’m not tweeting yet.