Facebook: My Most Useful Addiction

I hate turning things in last minute. This blog entry is being written at roughly 1am—10 hours before the class in which we’ll be discussing its subject matter. Usually my procrastination the result of some unnamed force, but here the culprit behind my distraction is topical. I blame Facebook.

More than just a social media site, Facebook has become an embodiment of everything New New Media stands to be. Through either Facebook itself or the many many provided “apps” for it, Facebook can do nearly anything you’d want to do. Back before blogging was accessible, or rather before I knew how, friends and I would post pseudo blog-posts through Facebook Notes. A good chunk of my online communication is through Facebook, either through chat or through public statuses. (Worth noting: I first wrote that as ‘public wall posts’, but as the chapter just reminded us, the wall is no more and has been replaced by timeline. Yet I know of many others besides myself who still use the term ‘wall’ in reference to Facebook ) I chatted casually with my friends via chat, I made a public post attempting to find a roommate for next semester, and tomorrow I’ll put out a public plea asking for a ride to Huron for the weekend. The short version? Facebook is really neat.

I am surprised that Facebook gaming wasn’t mentioned at all in the chapter. I understand that Facebook games are not exactly New New Media, but given their popularity I would have assumed they’d be mentioned in passing. Farmville, The Sims Social, and (my drug game of choice) Criminal Case are more or less a element of ‘socialization’ unique to Facebook. Playing a game and soliciting your friends to play amounts for something. My sister, and many other people, have befriended Facebook users simply because they shared an active interest in the game and could collaborate together. She even has gone as far as to make fake accounts for made-up people, simply to cheat the game’s requirement for socialization.