Will You Sign My Facebook?

I'm a little surprised to find myself quietly obsessing over Facebook.

It's stupid, really.  It's just another social media site, like MySpace without the annoying bands or deceptive angles. 

But I find myself logging in a lot, sniffing around for people I know to connect to, and trimming the hedges of my profile so everyone can see what movies I like, what countries I've been to, and dozens of other incredibly inane facts about me.

I do internetty things for a living, so I'm exposed to a lot of these sites.  I rely on LinkedIn regularly to keep up with my professional contacts.  I'm hooked into a music-lovers' site which makes me feel utterly out of touch with what the kids are listening to.  I've got a Virb account gathering dust somewhere.  And Twitter...well, that strikes me as technology-enabled narcissism/voyeurism; why anyone would be interested in whether I'm buying cereal or washing my hands at any given second is beyond me.

They're all silly in some way.  I've got a Zombie Ninja on Facebook that infects and attacks other users (do not attack Kara...her Zombie is like freakin' Chuck Norris).  People have written on my virtual wall and bought me virtual beers.  Ironically, I'd normally mock people who engage in such activity.  Yet hear I am, joining interest groups about Pluto and grammatical accuracy for no other reason than I can.

So what's the big deal?  I don't know, but I'm having fun with it.  An old friend from college found me on it the other day, and she put me in touch with another one, who has unbeknownst to me married yet another one.  So that's cool.  And I can apparently "Super Poke" other people, which sounds mildly dangerous and probably illegal in some states.

Maybe it's just reached a point where there's enough people on Facebook that I'm likely to know at least some of them.  And it's less work that going through my Google Reader and visiting everyone's web pages (as you've all surely noticed by now) even if it's not nearly as emotionally rewarding.

At least until the next big thing comes around.

Comments

[Whit]

It's only illegal to Super Poke miners. Coal, I think.

[landismom]

I'm spending a ridiculous amount of time on Facebook lately, considering a) I'm old and b) I've only had an account for like six minutes. But I figure, it's bound to pass sooner or later, like most of my internet addictions.

[Kathy]

I still don't have a Facebook account. The last thing I need right now is another internet obsession. Twitter: yes it's pretty much is every narcissist's dream, but it's also a wonderful platform in which to vent about all your other internet obsessions (particularly when they've gone wonky).

That's about all I use mine for.

[Kara]

My name is Kara and I'm addicted to Facebook.

(hi kara)

[the weirdgirl]

So Tony, are you going to post a picture of yourself breastfeeding? (Just to mess with The Man!)