Facebook Chapters

Chapter One: In Which We Are Introduced and I Am Unimpressed

I was fine using Twitter as my sole social network. I'd joined when, as a group of GeeksOn podcast listeners planning to attend the 2008 San Diego Comic-Con, we decided on the somewhat new network as our preferred means of communication with each other. Following the event, many of us stayed in touch through Twitter and my circle quickly expanded. It was a fluid, real-time site where I could learn, interact, and share with others, particularly about creative projects in progress. Then, one Twitter friend encouraged me to join Facebook. I took a look and wasn't sold. It looked cluttered with posts by teens and college students about humiliating drunken exploits. Or, their dogs. Sometimes both at the same time. But my friend persisted, explaining (tactfully) that Facebook has "people of all ages"-- you just have to create your own network.


Chapter Two: In Which I'm Mildly Intrigued

So, I tried it. Initially, my Facebook network consisted of a few local friends, some family, acquaintances from other online communities, and a couple of long-distance friends. You know, it was fine. I had to admit, it was better for sharing links, photos, and music. It was a fun way to interact with people who were more frequently a part of my daily life than those on Twitter. Then, I suddenly received "Friend Requests" from nieces, nephews, and the children of friends. What? This was unexpected, but interesting in its own way. I just had to remind myself to be cautious about which clips, even if they were hysterically funny, I could now post. The next wave was linking up with several of my newly-found relatives from my mother's birth family...even one relation who's connected by DNA, but we just can't figure out how yet. So, it's been especially interesting to look through their Facebook albums and search for signs of familial resemblance. A bit of a genealogist's dream.


Chapter Three: In Which I Discover the Meaning of Reconnecting

A couple of months ago, the floodgates opened on old school friends. You remember high school. Every day was either full of bliss or full of heartache. It's been fascinating to see photos of people I last saw, in some cases, decades ago. I quickly caught up on their lives, documented in their albums filled with smiling spouses, children, vacation spots, and pets. It felt as if I was absorbing the "and then they went on to..." epilogue at the end of a movie. There've been many happy reconnections, some fun can't-get-caught-up-fast-enough phone calls, and even an unexpected and healing exchange. And with each reconnection, there's been a moment when I pause and think silently about what I recall last about that person...what memory stands out the most about them...and why I connected with that person in the first place. It makes for a special kind of quiet reflection.

And, as if in a dream, I now go to Facebook and find so many people I've known from different stages in my life, from the diverse places I've lived. And yet, I may make a post that randomly brings friends from these different worlds together in a way that could never happen in the physical world. Ever. It makes for an exhilarating mix of voices, opinions, and personalities that seems, at times, unimaginable to me. I realize that I've discovered what draws most people to Facebook. I suppose I should have called this chapter The Conversion.