Facebook

I now have a presence on Facebook --so if you are a Ferguson Library person, please become my friend when you set yours up. So far I am friends with Marilee and Maura. That part is nice, but it seems that, once again, I have mixed feelings about a new technology. I can see how valuable this site is for high school/college age folks, in fact my son, who is now 24, has used facebook for years. But, it also seems like a bit of a harsh world to me, where everyone can see at a glance how many friends you have, and where people can overtly block you if they don't want to hear from you. Measuring popularity was much more subtle when I was that age. (is that good or bad??)

I also was only able to join one network, the geographic one. Because I am an alum, and I don't have an email account from any of my schools, I couldn't join any of their networks (I know, I can try to get an email account if I really want to). I also couldn't identify people I know who are on Facebook easily because my email accounts are not from one of the recognized providers and I don't have AIM friends, etc. There are things I can do to get around that, but they seemed too complicated to me. Besides, most of the folks I would find that way are my kids, my nephews and nieces and my friends' children. I'm not sure any of them would think it's cool to have me as a Facebook friend, and most likely none of them really want me to see what they are doing on Facebook in the first place.

These technologies are fascinating, but I have to admit, playing around them is making me feel old -- I am so not the target market for these things!