Monday, March 30, 2009

Lead in our pipes.

It's been famously surmised, if not actually proven, that the demise of the Roman Empire was due in part to lead in the pipes of its famous water system. Lead poisoning, of course, leads to all types of mental and physical infirmities. So lead in the water supply is bad for business all around.

Spending time on Facebook, and Facebook's huge explosion of members, makes me wonder if Facebook is the binary equivalent of lead in our internet pipes. I don't give a shit what five albums touched you. Or what Peanuts character you are most like. Or that you got a new toaster this weekend.

I do not need a margarita thrown at me. I don't need a tattoo on my home page. And I don't need to see 78 photographs of your kitten.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

The initial allure of Facebook was to find and keep in touch with people you knew--sometimes from way back. I liked it as a way to see what's happening in the lives of people I used to work with, or friends who live far away. I kept up with their family pictures, their new job, their vacations--just as if they were living right here.

Now, though, Facebook is a great, big marketing tool--and it's moved so very far away from its original intentions. Sure, I don't really care that Bob put up the Tempo last week or that Jill just ate a donut--but those threads started funny conversations and kept people in touch. Silly, I know--but still true. But now it takes 10 minutes to find those dang threads, buries under so much fluff and advertising. I'm watching old friends pop off Facebook for good every day.

BOB HOFFMAN said...

Okay, I'll take the kitten pictures down.