Audacious Hope

Don't let Facebook become another Friendster.

I get constantly peeved with friend requests from:

(a) people I don't know
(b) people with online names which bear no resemblance at all to their real names
(c) people with no real profile photos so they become unidentifiable

I had a Facebook button on this blog which took people to my profile, but now I've taken that button down because too many random people added me. Trust me. I'm not going to reply to you, "tH@nKs 4 da @dd <3." Don't you people have actual, real life friends that you can socialise with?

Facebook is not Friendster. Fact. Facebook's aim is not to add as many random people as you can and then never talk to them again, and then brag to your friends you've got 5,000 comments ("Comment marathons" are stupid, by the way). It's about using it as a portal for your social life. It doesn't replace it. Friendster tries to replace your social life. But Facebook doesn't. It actually moves it along.

The "groups" on Facebook is actually practical. Except of course those with "If this group reaches 500,000 members, I'll name my son Spider-Man" as their groupnames. But then even through this silliness, people actually discuss quite important things, and even trivial things that matter.

And the "events" page. Now we don't need physical invitation cards anymore. Save the trees! Yay! We've all been invited to all sorts of things (not judging the people who haven't). There's the usual (parties, socials, BBQs) and the not-so-usual (lectures, imagined birthday party, fire drill). I think it's quite funny being invited to a fire drill. "Oh my, a fire drill. Oh, dear sir, it will be such a blast. Mark my RSVP as Yes, will you, my kind sir? And do send it promptly."

And don't call yourself Johnny Blastfire or something like that if your real name is Abu Bakar bin Haji Karim (I made up the two names. Sorry for any unintentional coincidences). You look like a douche. I'm okay with nicknames i.e. names people actually know you by.

This is my idea of an ideal Facebook world. Of course my idea of an ideal real world will be one without wars and the Bush household, but we know that's not going to happen. Oh wait. Oh, oh. Obama's almost here. Four days from now, isn't it?

Signing out

Over and out