Facebook...

Did you hear about the guy in Egypt who named his firstborn daughter Facebook?  Yeah, well he did.  It's absolutely amazing to me what people are attributing to Facebook and Twitter in the recent revolutions... maybe rightly so, but nonetheless impressive considering these 'social networks' didn't even exist 10 years ago.  It never will fail to fascinate me that the same 'tool' that is being credited with connecting people in the Arab world allowing them to join in huge numbers to overthrow corrupt governments... is one and the same 'tool' that high schoolers use to complain about their parents, college students use to post drunken pictures of themselves and their friends, young adults use to share pictures of weddings and babies, and parents are using to qualm some kind of mid-life crisis!  Either this technological tool is the absolute best, most flexible, innovative 'thing' invented since mmmmm I don't know the automobile or something.... OR it is the single most destructive force in both our current reality and foreseeable future.
A woman in one of my classes was bragging about having over 1,200 'friends' on facebook... my response - really you think those are your friends?  People who only remember your birthday because it's on their facebook reminders and even then can't be bothered to pick up the phone, send a card or heaven forbid actually send you a gift?!  No, they post a message to your facebook wall and that's considered sufficient to be called a friend?  I think not.  In my humble opinion, facebook has ruined the word friend forever... it has even turned it into a verb: "He friended me yesterday.  I didn't want to friend her, so I ignored her friend request."  Or how about the de-friend or un-friend: as in "OMG, can you believe he de-friended me last night!"  And then there's the use of tag (used for sharing pictures digitally): You snap a photo of friends, "You totally have to tag me!"  Oh yeah, and then there's perhaps my favorite facebook term, facebook official: meaning that something, most commonly a relationship, is known and claimed publicly.  For example: Hey are you and that guy dating?  I dunno, I mean we're not facebook official yet or anything if that's what you're asking!
Confession: I have never had facebook, and most likely never will (never say never, right?!) and my friends (yes real life people that I actually speak with) are always giving me a hard time... usually it goes something like "oh yeah, I forgot... you don't have facebook!  See Kate... this is why you HAVE to get it!"  but lately it's gone more like "see there... if you lived in Egypt you would have been left in the dark and missed the entire popular uprising!" It's amazing the lengths people will go to, to drag you down with them :)  I have had many a conversation with young people about how much time and energy they waste on facebook, how much unnecessary drama it causes, and the amount of information that is just 'out there' in cyperspace about them... and yet each and every one of those people at some point has tried to persuade me to join.  Now, I'm the first to say that there are definite pros and cons and that Facebook cannot, obviously, be seen as all negative or all positive... HOWEVER, for me (at least until there is a coup here in the U.S. AND I can no longer be reached by cell phone or email) the cons seriously outweigh the pros - therefore THE social network will continue not to be MY social network.
No offense to all you facebookers out there!  I swear!  I love you just the same! :)

By the way, it's been a while since I've written for multiple reasons... not the least of which is a severely sprained ankle (thanks to intramural basketball), intense planning for my internship organization's annual fundraising event, planning a bachelorette party and TONS of class reading!
I hope you're doing well and look forward to hearing from you!
Kate