I couldn’t believe it when a friend informed me that Facebook had recently turned 10. 10? Already? NO WAY!!! At this rate it’ll be old enough to start buying drinks in no time!
In 2004, Mark Zuckerberg started to kick some real social media butt when he introduced Harvard college kids to the social networking site. The rest of the world gradually caught on and became Facebook crazy; Zuckerberg became a multi-billionaire and was played by Jesse Eisenberg in a movie about the rise of Facebook – and the rest is history.
There’s no denying that Facebook has become synonymous with the early twenty-first century and has changed the way in which we use the internet and communicate with family, friends, schoolmates, colleagues – even people we’ve never met! Anyone who’s got a business or product to promote has discovered the benefits of Facebook; bands, actors and authors have used it to build their fan base; we can join groups and speak to people who share our interests and we can play games with – or against – other Facebook users. And who says it’s just for kids? Even grandparents got in on the act, using it to keep in touch with grandchildren living abroad.
Facebook may sound like a little piece of paradise in cyber heaven but as everyone knows there’s a downside to the social networking phenomenon which has been well-documented in the press: tales of spying on ex-partners verging on stalking to trolling and hate-campaigns to concerns about data protection and privacy and even being cited in divorce cases – it would appear that Facebook isn’t everyone’s cup of tea.
I first heard about Facebook back in 2007 when it was slowly surpassing MySpace, the social networking site du jour. I wasn’t in any great hurry to get an account because back then I wasn’t really into social networking. I preferred to go out there and do things rather than sit at my PC. I also didn’t like the ‘nosey’ aspect of it where people would know your business and where you’d get to know things about them that you wish they’d kept to themselves. Furthermore, the people I came across who were avid Facebookers were hardly an elite group I wished to join.
However three years later, I did join! Many of my friends were moving abroad and insisted that I got a Facebook account for us to keep in regular contact. I value my friendships with them so much that I did just that. And I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised to find that I was wrong about Facebook. Whatever the negatives might have been, I found that the positives outweighed them greatly. I got to keep up-to-date with events in my friends lives; organizing events via Facebook proved to be very convenient; I enjoyed looking at friends’ photos, and best of all I was able to find friends I’d lost touch with ages ago – and in no way is that a bad thing! Furthermore, my friends say that my posts – usually regarding my one million and one mishaps – have them in stitches.
Then last year I decided to set up another Facebook account for professional reasons in order to promote my work and network with people from the arts industries. It has been a huge success. I’ve publicized my numerous blogs and best of all been able to talk to people who share my passion for writing, blogging,music, history, travel and the arts – basically anything that involves creativity. I’ve forged some pretty close bonds with some of the creative crowd and I’ve even been called upon to lend a helping hand which I’m always happy to do.
Have I had any bad experiences? Well I’ve had nosey parker relatives, old school foes and hideous exes trying to add me as a friend. Needless to say, I didn’t accept their friend requests. But other than that I’m glad I’m a Facebooker. It’s great when you use it the right way i.e:
don’t over-obsessively check FB fifty times a day; don’t add all the people you get on the tube with every morning just to increase your number of friends, and not go running to update your posts every time you cough sneeze or pick your spots! It’ll be interesting what will happen within the next ten years. Will Facebook have get even bigger (if possible?) Or will it go the same way as Friends Reunited? Will a new social networking site come along and cause Facebookers to close their accounts? Who knows – but we’ll see! Right I’d better go check my inbox…
So happy belated birthday Facebook. Hope the party was awesome!
Chez Mrs. D 