Hi Mark,
First and foremost thing… This is my Personal opinion, so don't get offended!!!
Facebook, is not social any more. When you started it way back trying to rate the Pics, it was social then, not any more.
This is why I don't thing think it is social:
From my experience (this includes my friends and colleagues as well), what do I get to see on facebook, Videos posts (Mainly some Kolaveri Di shit), copy paste of some one else’s status updates, clicking and saying Many Many Happy returns of the day!!!. Fertilizing some one else crops by just clicking, or feeding some food to their animals. This is not social. if this were a social medium, I would have seen videos of my friend sleeping or farting in office and not video of some one I least care about.
If it were social, 500 people posting on my wall happy returns could have called me on my cell (Which they can get from my personal info page) and wished me, if it were social they would have pasted their own status update like, getting bored at my Org’s all Hands. I don't want to fertilize some one else’s crops by just clicking. I want to go to their Farm (if they have one) and get my hands dirty to fertilize their crops. I dont get to see or do this on Facebook. So for me it is not social.
When we all say that current age and time are of Social network, what do we really mean by it. For me being social is getting together with People on a Tapri (Road side tea Stall), sipping tea from those age old glasses, Smoking till the Tapri walla shuts down, discussing anything from Death metal to technology to cursing Andriod Phones for low battery and apple for bloody expensive iPhones. For me social means when I can get with my friends, colleagues and discuss something which we want to discuss and not see what Dhanush has sung.
For me being social means hanging out on Kailash ji Tea shop, giving a long stare at any girl passing by and one of us telling us that he dated this girl and laughing at him knowing he will pee in his pants even talking to her.
Facebook, twitter, orkut, linked in, they are anything but social.
Look what happened to google Plus…. did anyone stop and thought about why it was such a flop. People are getting bored of being social this way. Facebook may boast of 100 million subscribers, but does that mean it is a society of 100 million people. No it is not.
Following Salman Khan or Amitabh Bachan on twitter can not be called social, I call it Stalking. Getting linked to some one on a website is not social. I may have more that 7000 links on linked in, but that does not mean I am social. With how many I really interact. Being in facebook, twitter and linked in has became a fashion statement than anything else. Every one wants to be
Being social means getting out of your home, interacting with people and environment around you.
Being on facebook or twitter is sitting in front of a LCD screen and sending some messages. This is like seeing Sunny and Matt Erikson making out, thinking instead of Matt its you. Its not you. This is what facebook and twitter are doing to Being Social.
I am sure in coming 4-5 years we are going to see a revolutionary change in the way we interact or act social. Facebook wont be there to see this in its current formant. The current social network format has to change to make people really social. Google will try to stop being another Microsoft. and Facebook will try to stop being Google.
In the end I would like to say, Mark go out of your office with your colleagues and friends, to Kailash ji Tea Stall and see what being social means.
Cheers!!!!
World is changing at a blazing fast speed. What use to be the reality of yesterday 10 PM is no more valid today. Neither you nor me have got time in hand to be nostalgic or opportunity to get back to Kailash ji Tea stall. If FB is able to create the virtual tea stall where we can share the same jokes, same bakar...it serves its purpose.
ReplyDeleteI recently created an event in Facebook and met some of my old collegemates, which in absence of FB would need the dependence on Alumni chapter. Infact the recent job I found is from a social network. I also plan to meet someone in NCR who I have come to know through FB...someone with who I share similar frequency.
Having said that, I agree that 4 years down the line, social matrix would change and FB may not find its place in that matrix but I believe, Kailash ji Tea stall would still not be there. World is not going backwards and neither should you. So my advice is to move on and enjoy what you have today and embrace the better things of today's social media and chuck what you dont like.
Keep networking ;)
Hey buddy... great post !!!
ReplyDeleteThis however reminded me of something i read / heard and could relate what you are saying, very much to it.
God, in all his wisdom, created the world as a very beautiful peaceful place. It's us the people who messed it up to the world that we have today. and rather than realizing this, we keep complaining to God for all this hell.
What does mark have to do with any of the shitty farms and aweful fishes. He created Facebook purely for socializing, being in touch with people who matter to you and who in absence of a tool like facebook would be long lost. What else happens on this platform is your problem not his. For God's sake, he even gave you tools to block the unwanted content on your wall. USE THEM !!! ;))
I'm personally not very much into twitter and Linked-In and know this much..... nobody is asking me to! You wanted to join these networks to be in the groove. Why complain now ??? lol
Moreover, i would call socializing to be a very subjective term. Your definition of socializing can be very very different from someone else'. Kailash ji Tea stall can be socializing for you but down-market for another. Don't be so naive as to dictate what's socializing for others coz nobody's dictating yours... ;)
Anyway, Happy Socializing !!!