Facebook Frenzy

It was late summer of 2006 when I signed up for the relatively new website called Facebook. I knew what I was getting myself into because I had seen other sites such as MySpace. These sites allow you to create a profile page where you put your general information, add friends and send/receive messages. You start out in a network such as London, Ontario where you can view people in the area and find old friends. One significant feature of Facebook that I really enjoyed was the ability to tag other people’s profiles to photos. This means that you can link someone’s profile to there face in your photo album. Facebook seemed like a great idea where I can add old friends and communicate with them for free. Just recently I added my cousins who I had not seen in many years to my profile. I think it is really cool that I can add people from my past and communicate with them. Facebook has a number of benefits but with these benefits comes negatives. One thing I dislike about Facebook is the ability for others to spy or look upon your profile. It is relatively easy for someone to look at your profile and see what you have been up to recently. There is a nice little update feature that displays everything you do on your profile such as messages sent/received, what friends you have added and events you plan on attending. Facebook has put in place an advanced privacy network to prevent others from viewing your profile. Basically if you sign up for Facebook then you are not looking for much privacy in your life. The photo tag feature can also be seen as a bad thing. I have seen a number of examples where people have been tagged doing inappropriate things and later getting caught because it is linked to their profiles for the world to see. I hear the term “creeping” a lot in association with Facebook. It is easy to wander through the site looking at other people’s profile which is known as facebook “creeping”. You can spend an hour looking at friend’s friend’s friends or trying to find out what old classmates are doing. I like Facebook because it is more interactive then e-mail. I think we are evolving away from e-mail and using other forms of communication such as Facebook to talk with friends. I enjoy the Facebook experience and soon expect another website to popup that will take Facebook by storm and became the higher power in the online communication world.