Generation Facebook

How often do you usually get poked? And how many people like your daily rants? Just type away and the internet easily connects you with thousands of people that you might have never met nor will never meet in real life ... but they are your cyber friends and share the ups and downs. Don't get me wrong, I like Facebook and it is a great networking tool that helps you to stay in touch with friends all over the world, but it is far from perfect.

Recently I stumbled over this interesting video - yes I must admit - I saw it in the Facebook friends news feed:

As mentioned above, Facebook can be pretty useful as long as you approach it with the right mindset and expectations, but most importantly I would only ever share what I can afford to lose. The vast majority of users on Facebook is not aware of all available privacy settings and share pictures and very personal info with the whole cyber world. In the long run, something is bound to happen and we have to live with the consequences, but why not avoiding it in the first place?

If you sign a contract, most read the fine print but don't pay as much attention - now all of a sudden it does backfire and drama is the logical consequence. Facebook is no different and if you post drunk pictures openly, don't be surprised if your boss or co-workers can see them as well. Being open minded is one thing, thinking in advance and taking responsibility is a hell of a difference. 

They say we are creatures of habit and only make a mistake once, after that it becomes a choice and is no mistake anymore. But do we even notice it as mistake in first place or just see it as another lesson to be taught in the cyber world? After all, these social networks are what we make out of it and symbolize a nice distraction to keep our mind alike. 

For me, Facebook is an opportunity to stay in touch with friends as well as meeting new friends and business contacts because most companies now realized how important social networks are. Along with online forums, they are the most easy way to connect with other people besides emails and instant messengers on the world wide web. The added incentive on Facebook is the approach to analyze your activity and suggest pages and friends with similar interests, a clever dating service that even shows you adverts for everything you ever "liked". 

The above may sound sarcastic but I rather consider it as realistic, mind you I also remember very well all the good things that happened to me on Facebook. I know probably 75% of all the people on my friends list and a few years ago, I made a promise to one of them to meet in real life one day. Fortunately I was able to keep that promise about two years ago and I never once regret it and am also sure that most have made a similar experience as well.Once you get the opportunity, you will be thrilled to find out if the online personalities match and connect in "real life" as well.

I value that friendship a lot and you know, there are those people that are almost always able to bring a smile on your face, right? Now there are a few Facebook friends left on my "must-meet" list and I hope that will go as well as the previous ones. There is no guarantee but if you never take any risk, there is no way to find out. But one thing is for sure: It will take the friendship to another level, be it good or bad. And you can't click the "like" button, you have to say it in words ... or with a smile.