Flickr = photo sharing. YouTube = video sharing, Twitter = status sharing, del.ico.us = URL Sharing, my blog = me sharing. Facebook = 
Facebook, one of the most popular social networking sites on the Internet but what is it's purpose? I can share photos, vidoes, status updates, URL's if I want. Don't I already have better ways of doing this? Short answer, yes. Long answer yeeeeeeesssss. So like Oscar Wilde once said "I am going to ignore these Facebook features because they are crap." and well said.
Anyhow, I shall continue with my trusty steed Safari (a pure breed web browser) on my noble quest to find Facebook's purpose. Hurray and cheer!
I'm no stranger to online profiles, I tend to register for all social networking sites regardless of the fact that I don't use them. It's like claiming land but land marked with my name. I want to claim it first before someone gets a user account with my name and like that account safely back to my blog the central resource for all things moi. Why? Actually that's a good question and perhaps another topic so lets just be happy with the fact that I do and so already had a Facebook account to begin with.
I last logged into this account 124BC but had a curious urge to login again. Okay, so I was actually looking for a picture of someone to murder to befriend. Irrelevant fact aside, I had indeed logged into to blow the dust off this account.
Friend requests. Notifications. Invites. Wait a minute I have friends? Some clarification is needed here of the word friend.
Quote:
friend |frend|
noun
a person whom one knows and with whom one has a bond of mutual affection, typically exclusive of sexual or family relations.
Now, lets revise that so it's applicable to Facebook's understanding of friend:
Quote:
friend |frend|
noun
a person whom one does not need to know and with whom one may have never met and may or may not have a bond of mutual affection, especially not exclusive of sexual or family relations.
A Facebook friend in need is not a friend indeed, more of an acquaintance. Okay, so I have a list of acquaintances to add fair enough lets do that.
Notifications. People have sent me a message, okay a few people want to say "Hi" I'll reply and be done with it.
Invitations. No. Sorry, but I don't want to take a quiz and if I did I would not have wanted to take one about the 80's.
I have now edited my profile. Facebook wants lots of person information from me. Where I study, where I have studied, my address, what I am doing, my pictures, sexual preference, videos and even credit card details. Does even the government have this much information about me? I don't have to enter these things of course but I mustn't shy away otherwise I might miss "the meaning of Facebook" so I'll bang in a few details I don't mind people knowing about.
What am I looking at now? I lot of updates telling me what people have been up to lately. I'll read through them. Okay, about as interesting as reading a local newspaper. So far my social network is not being terribly enriched.
Now, what am I going to put on this Facebook account of mine. I could upload pictures but I have Flicker, I could post a status update but I have twitter, I could upload a video but I have YouTube, I could write a blog post but I'm doing that now already on the best place to do so. Hm... I'll update my profile picture to a lovely shot of myself and girlfriend. Okay, uploaded and tagged. Yes, incase it was not blatantly obvious enough I have tagged a profile picture of myself with my own name, I'm sure that will be helpful in avoiding some confusion. My profile picture does have two people in it I guess. I tagged my girlfriend too, but wait! She does not have Facebook. I got prompted to send her an invite about this newly tagged photo of her so she can join the masses and start her own network of socialness. Invitation sent.
Now, integration. To live the Facebook experience you need to be drip feed teh infoz. So in goes my account details into Adium. I can now chat using the Facebook messenger network from my favourite instant messaging client AND as an added bonus I get people's status updates appear in a popup window. Wow, I AM cool. Phase too, download Facebook touch to my iPhone. Yep that works, posted a status update to test it works and I can also post pictures straight to facebook just like I can already do to flickr - joy! Are you feeling the integration? No?.
Okay I'm all set, I've gathered my amour and I'm prepared to do battle with Facebook. Look out for more in the next instalment of the incredible adventures of Sir Purpose Knight in Facebook land.
