What I Think Of The Social Network
I am part of the social network site that is Facebook and I have been reaping benefits left and right from my membership.
I have since maintained a good number of personal and professional relationships in it and suffice it to say; I stay connected with them and interact with them through an exchange of comments and reactions on the “Wall,” a space on every user’s profile page that allows Facebook friends to post messages for other users to see.
There are also other interactive features like pokes (some sort of a virtual “poking” akin to getting a friend’s attention or giving notice to a friend) and status (similar to Twitter’s status updates like posting current thoughts, feelings, reports, and similar sharings that you want your friends to know or possibly react to).
All is well. Everybody stays connected and updated
with each other’s lives and activities.
It’s social networking at its best!
Then I watched the film, “The Social Network,” and honestly, I may never look at Facebook the same way again.
“You Don’t Get To 500 million Friends Without Making A Few Enemies.”
So goes the now infamous tagline of the film, touted to be the unofficial story of how Facebook began and how Mark Zuckerberg breached all rules of legalities, including privacy, as well as friendships to get to where he is now with Facebook.
Of course, there are still disputes over the veracity of the film considering that one of Zuckerberg’s former friends and Facebook co-founder, Eduardo Saverin, was the primary consultant of Ben Mezrich, author of the book, “The Accidental Billionaires,” from which the movie was largely based. Zuckerberg claims it to be fiction and not totally representative of what really happened. One thing is true, though, Eduardo Saverin and Mark Zuckerberg have since remained not friends.
Needless to say, it is really mind-boggling, to say the least, that Facebook evolved into a social tool in forging friendships and relationships by destroying the very friendships formed by its founders. It is really sad.
This really led me into deep thinking about what real friendships should be.
In A Social Virtual Network Where Adding And Removing Friends Is As Easy As 1, 2, 3, Of
What Value Are Real Friendships Formed
Offline Or In The Real World?
In my next post, I intend to delve fully into this social network phenomenon by answering this simple question: What is a friend?
Have you seen “The Social Network?” What’s your take on the movie? Share your thoughts by leaving a comment below. If you enjoyed this post, don’t forget to share, retweet, or bookmark! Thank you!
To Your Success,
Elmar Sandyck
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Hi Elmar,
I can’t give you my feedback on “The Social Network” itself because I haven’t watched it yet. My husband has been after me to watch it with him on blu ray, but I haven’t found the time yet. However, you made me so curious that I will watch it with him before the week is over. So I’ll get back to you on that.
Have a great week!
Ilka
Hi Ilka,
The movie is really worth the time to watch, certainly for people like us who are active on social media sites on a daily basis.
You will love it!
Have a great week too!
Elmar
I think everybody knows about the story already and it was just fascinating to see how it was going to be portrayed on film. No matter what detractors of Mark Zuckerberg would have to say, though, he was still Time’s Person of the Year in 2010. He’s a genius.
Hi Elmar,
I haven’t watched it yet. Regarding friendships, we have deeper friendships in real life and loose acquaintances as well. The same holds true for Facebook.
Without Facebook for example, I wouldn’t care much personally (of course I would care in a general sense) about the earthquake in Christchurch because I wouldn’t know anybody there.
Without cynicism, I bet that more people are killed on Christchurch’s streets every year in car accidents. Now I know a whole bunch of people from New Zealand and also from Christchurch through Facebook – and of course I care about them (all are safe, good luck)
Nothing will ever be the same again.
I recently met people offline I knew through Facebook – it was like a family reunion without the typical family stuff, so even better.
I personally don’t make a difference between the real world and the online world. The online world is the real world or at least part of it.
Chances are that people who want to conserve some idea of the past create an artifical distinction between offline and online. I am wicked and mean, I know
Thanks for a thought-provoking post.
Take care
Oliver
Hi Oliver!
Thanks, likewise, for a thought-provoking answer!
Indeed, Facebook has altered the “rules” on friendship and has made it accessible for all of us to be friends with almost anyone all over the world, virtually at first, but eventually, real friendships could really be formed.
In the end, Facebook is just a medium, and no matter where we meet our good friends now, be it through Facebook or someone we just met at a party, it’s how we associate with one another that really makes the difference.
Elmar