ok, so it's 2:40 in the morning. i shouldn't be typing right now. i shouldn't be experiencing conscious thought right now. but i just went to the movies and saw the social network. this post is not a recommendation. you see what you want to see, and i'll do the same. i should say that i recognize the movie wasn't all accurate, but i'm going to act like it was here until i find out where to get the real story. i should also say cheers to the first someones who presented a critical view of social networking to wake us up a little bit. huzzah! it was pretty cool to sit in a movie that is not sci-fi and so timely . some movies are timely but totally sci-fi, and some movies are not sci-fi but blah blah blah. you know?
i sometimes think about how big business is running consumers instead of the other way around, and facebook is the most subtle offender. mark zuckerburg knew it. he wanted to destroy the old social order where he was at the bottom of the chain and he pulled it off. now he's on top. sort of. more in a money way than in a peace of mind, real fulfilling relationships way, though, i'm guessing. not that he doesn't have peace of mind, but he definitely doesn't have a corner on that market. and my need and a billion other people's need to fit into the social order helped lift him above us all.
i know this isn't really about levels, who's above who, or shouldn't be...but it is. and not that i'm bitter, but mark zukerberg and i graduated from high school THE SAME YEAR. yeah, he's a billionaire. check him out on facebook (but don't get your hopes up: you can't add him as a friend.) after watching the movie, i'm gonna have a real hard time buying this line: "i am on facebook to keep in touch with people i never see and wouldn't otherwise communicate with." yeah, that's true for all of us, but i just don't believe it is anyone's primary reason. mark zuckerburg created facebook because he KNEW how much we wanted to be part of the party, in the in crowd, accepted, befriended, validated (even if only superficially.) tell me you don't recognize that impulse in yourself--it's what my high school friends call Fear Of Missing Out. how many people have deleted their facebook page in a moment of self-disgust after hours of aimless stalking that leave them feeling worse about themselves only to reactivate their account days weeks months later? just me?
after the movie, i got on facebook because i had reason to more closely examine the masthead, the about page, the layout etc. and here's what i read on the welcome page: "facebook helps you connect and share with the people in your life." baloney. i mean, yeah, it does, but like i said before--it was generated in a spirit of exclusivity and self-promotion, and that spirit fuels it still. the rest is clever marketing.
the real kicker is that we/i can't ignore facebook. we/i can't say, no, i want to fight against what has happened to social networking and do things the "old fashioned way." this is about critical mass, and if one or one hundred people is doing things the old fashioned way and waiting by the door for a visit from a friend who's simultaneously messaging on facebook, we won't connect. so will i leave it? i don't know. i'm really considering it. i'm at least finally being honest with myself about the fact that if i don't leave it, it's cause i'm afraid of missing out.
but missing what?
ps i don't think facebook is evil. i don't think it has inherent value: it is a tool and can be used in stupid and awesome ways. that's all.
5 comments:
Kristin and I did the same thing after the movie--came home and looked at the masthead, etc.
In response to:
"facebook helps you connect and share with the people in your life." baloney. i mean, yeah, it does, but like i said before--it was generated in a spirit of exclusivity and self-promotion, and that spirit fuels it still. the rest is clever marketing.
I don't necessarily think that Zuckerberg's motivation for making Facebook nullifies my personal reasons for using it. Are you saying that the clever marketing just makes me THINK that I'm actually using Facebook to connect and share rather than simply promoting myself?
First, that doesn't say much for me (the general consumer [which I guess is your point, but which is equal parts conspiratorial and insulting and maybe true?]). Also, can't I do both? And can't I use Facebook to connect one moment or month or year and then use it self-congratulatorily in a totally separate moment/situation? And can't those moments spring from what is happening in my life or how I'm feeling that day or a million other factors besides what the marketing team posts on the welcome page?
I'm not sure. But I did enjoy the movie. :)
Just been getting caught up on your blog and LOVING it... you are sooo honest. :-) Love you and your family!
elisa, thanks for pushing me. i was thinking along the same lines as you when i came home from the movie, went to one of my favorite "do-good-in-the-world" sites, and saw the little facebook symbol on the page. of course, things created with less than admirable intentions can be used in positive ways.
i also didn't mean to suggest that facebook marketing is turning consumers into mindless puppets. facebook marketing has never actually succeeded in making me think i was using it to connect when i wasn't--i made myself think that because it was a better alternative to the reality.
what i meant by the clever marketing is that "facebook helps you make your life look cooler than it is and in turn helps you hook up with people" is a little too honest, too in your face, too unappealing. yes, that is exaggerated and really cynical, but how long would the site have lasted with that kind of a tag line?
part of what i'm saying is that things might have happened differently if zuckerberg had created facebook with his current slogan in mind. (should they be different and in what way? i don't know.) nobody got together to think about the implications of revolutionizing social interaction. i'm guessing very few of the first many members paused before signing up to ask, "why am i getting on this site? what do i hope to achieve? is this a movement i want to support?"
you could say the author, mark zuckerberg, is dead, and it doesn't matter what his intentions were. true. but that his project succeeded so dramatically seems to reflect his ability to understand our intentions.
Interesting stuff, Cath. I just wanted to add that I wasn't going to see the movie because I thought it would be gimmicky and stupid (besides, it's a story we already know, Zuckerberg may or may not have stolen the idea from frat boys, he's been involved in lawsuits, blah blah blah). Turns out, it was very well-written and extremely well filmed; I really enjoyed the movie. And (from the perspective of someone who works in SF Bay Area tech), I especially enjoyed seeing the company in its early days. Whether that is an accurate depiction of the early days of Facebook is surely up for debate, but it was interesting to see.
I never participated in Facebook myself, mainly because I am a contrarian at heart. I suggest you walk away and never look back. This study was the nail in the coffin for me: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-501465_162-20016136-501465.html.
PS- Nice blog by the way. I got linked here from Jae's.
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