Friday, January 30, 2009

A Glimmer of Understanding

A quick disclaimer: This post has nothing to do with the farm.

It has to do with Facebook, of all the bizarre things in the world. I truly had no understanding what these "social networking" things was all about. I only knew that Obama used them to great advantage in his campaign and that high school and college students seemed to spend way too much time on them.

Then earlier this week my mom asked, "Have you seen your sister's Facebook page?"
No, I didn't even know she had one. So being ever-curious, I hopped online and looked her up. Well, duh...before you can look at a Facebook page, you have to not only join, but actually set up your own page. Fine! I don't tend to be a signer-up kind of person, but for some weird reason, I followed it through to the end and ...holy cow! There's a whole universe out there!

In the succeeding days since, I have amassed a whopping 50+ "Friends" (including my sister) and I have been spending an alarming amount of time in front of the computer, just checking in with people, some of whom I haven't seen in 20 years! Besides the somewhat humiliating part of the experience when you have to contact someone and "ask them to be your friend" which reminds me a little too much of junior high, its been great fun and at the same time, it is absolutely mad! Who thinks up this stuff?

If nothing else, its been a lot of fun just touching base with a bunch of people that I used to spend time with, from all across the country. And I now have some understanding of why certain age groups find this such an interesting pastime. Evidently, I fall into at least one of those age groups. Who would have guessed? I should have titled this post, "Facebook Ate My Brain!"

4 comments:

Amanda said...

Hi Jill!
Yeah, it was so great to find you on Facebook! I can't believe it's been [incoherent mumble] years!!

I love the stuff you're doing. It's funny that so many of us from high school went the organic, sustainable direction. I'm a vegan my oldest son is veg, and we're all very conscious of what we eat and use. You're an inspiration!

Love your site. I'll keep checking for updates!
~ Amanda

Miss Effie said...

Jill -- I made the same dumb mistake. My college roomie said -- "You should join Facebook." And Cindy was always the smart one.

So far -- I have only 6 friends --But I re-connected with a girlfriend from 35 years ago!!

I love my blog but Facebook could become an addiction!

girlwithasword said...

*I can't hear you LA LA LA LA LA*

Chel said...

whEN THE THIRD PERSON i KNEW TOLD ME i JUST had TO GET ON fACEBOOK, i WENT AND DID IT. aND SINCE MY BOSS WAS THE THIRD PERSON, AND SHE LETS ME HAVE UNLIMITED (oops sorry too lazy to redo from caps lock)Facebook time, I find I have quickly become an addict. I have, like, hundreds of friends on there, and "in person" in my daily life, I have TWO in this town, so...! I suddenly feel like people like me, they really lIKE me! Which is still ridiculous, of course. My Facebook is on all day, pretty much. IT IS CRAZY! And the factthat I get to play with flair just makes it MORE addictive! Suddenly, I am tlaking to people I was little with, wen tto high school, with, went to college with, and their spouses...NUTS, I TELL YA!
But it is also nice to know that no matter how lonely I am here in Santa Cruz, someone will be on Facebook if I log on. Maybe Facebook is my new comfort food...
And YOU!--well, you go girl, I say! I think you found the secret to a great life. I always liked ya, but now...now I like ya even more.