Is Facebook’s popularity dipping?
Toronto is the Facebook capital of the world. We love it. From those of us who’ll post pictures of anything that comes to mind to those of us who update our status several times a day. We know it’s silly and for most of us it’s a complete waste of time. Simon Dumenco tells us that even Bill Gates has quit using Facebook after having a daily half-hour habit. He was being bombarded with roughy 8,000 friend requests each day. And yes, it is quite silly, as Dumenco explains:
But Facebook’s ick factor in the executive suite might have as much to do with its shiny, happy world of “friendship” as with security. “There’s almost an inverse relationship between seriousness and how much you participate in social networking,” says ReputationDefender’s Fertik, laughing. That basically nails it: Facebook is simply unserious—particularly given how it prompts hard-driving business executives to regress into adolescent vernacular. “Poking” people, requesting “friends,” writing on someone’s “wall”: It’s cute when you’re in high school or college. But in a corporate environment, it sounds disingenuous and downright silly.
I personally detest the proliferation of ridiculous applications (and especially hate being tested on my movie knowledge!) but now and then a good *poke is a bit of fun :)
July 18, 2008 at 6:02 pm
“But Facebook’s ick factor in the executive suite might have as much to do with its shiny, happy world of “friendship” as with security. “There’s almost an inverse relationship between seriousness and how much you participate in social networking,” says ReputationDefender’s Fertik, laughing. That basically nails it: Facebook is simply unserious—particularly given how it prompts hard-driving business executives to regress into adolescent vernacular. “Poking” people, requesting “friends,” writing on someone’s “wall”: It’s cute when you’re in high school or college. But in a corporate environment, it sounds disingenuous and downright silly.”
I think this is why I tend to have trouble fitting into corporate environments. Personally, I don’t see where there must be a disconnect between succeeding in business and having fun. I think people work too hard trying to compartmentalize their lives into “work” and “fun.” The best workplaces are those where employees have fun.
July 18, 2008 at 6:04 pm
There are a few downsides as to social networking at work:
1. Slacking off
2. It interferes with the structure of the social system already in place at work
3. Too much private information can be used as a weapon against others
July 24, 2008 at 9:13 pm
Here’s an interesting case in the UK: a man has been fined almost $50,000 for ruining another man’s reputation by disseminating false information about him on Facebook. Read the article here:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2008/jul/25/law.facebook
July 28, 2008 at 12:54 pm
Heather Mallick tells us why Facebook is so popular in Canada:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/jul/28/canada.socialnetworking
August 20, 2008 at 1:02 am
[...] In a previous post here at vodka/soda we discussed some of the dangers of social networking sites on the internet. One of the most costly dangers is identity theft, a theft made much easier by the amount of personal information available about ourselves and made available by ourselves (and websites) on the web. [...]