Saying “Hi” to new LJ frens and About Facebook

Tweet A shout-out to some people who are new on my friends list. Thanks for asking to be added.
Thankfully there are LJ alerts when someone sends you a message to your LJ inbox. If not I wouldn’t have realise I had any emails!

I just want to say I find it weird that people other than my friends would follow my blog… even had a few people on Fridae tell me they’ve been reading my LJ and that i write about interesting things. Really ah!? Thanks for reading yah!

Anyway … so people don’t think I write about nonsense and fluffy things only … here’s any entry that i hope will give those you’ve read this far something to think about.

This is about Facebook. I’ve been having this conversation with quite a few people recently. They ask me what the point of Facebook is as they don’t understand all the invitations and notices they receive to do this and that.

So here goes ….

FACEBOOK, for me, really is a way to keep in touch with a bigger group of people than is previously possible.

You know there are sociology theories about an average person being able to engage in X number of close relationships and X number of casual relationships which are limited by time and geography. Some friendships sometime become neglected if you don’t doing something with these frens … often this is not something that you want to happen … it just happens ’cause you don’t have the time.

Facebook actually allows you to stay in touch with more of your friends and do things with them in the world of Facebook.

That to me is really the point of Facebook.

It helps me keep in touch with
… friends I knew in primary and secondary school …
… childhood friends I grew up with …
… people I got to know in the different companies I worked at …
… people I meet at clubs and party with …
… people I meet with common interests like diving or tennis …
… close friends you have which aren’t in the same country as you …
… guys I’ve had crushes on but never really had the opportunity to engage further (mentally la … not physically!)

Your life is actually filled with a lot of people who mean something to you and whom you often don’t have the chance to spend more time with.

WHAT FACEBOOK ALLOWS ME TO DO
With Facebook, it allows me to keep in touch with all my friends
… to poke them
… to send them a hug …
… to buy them as pets …
… to recruit in games …
… to play scrabble with …
… to see what they’ve been up to or what their moods are

The beauty of Facebook is that you both don’t have to be free at the same time … something that you do to your friend is captured in Facebook until your friend has the time to log-in and see what you did. And your history of actions are also recorded so you are reminded and don’t forget who your special friends are.

THANKS TO FACEBOOK
… I’ve hooked up with my school-mates from SJI when they visited KL …

… I’ve been reminded of many a birthday …

… I discovered my dentist draws amazingly well (using graffiti) and has a soul of an artiste …

… my friends have emailed me and sent me hugs and gifts when I’ve been down or moody or stressed …

… I’ve managed to deepen my friendships with some people I never thought I’d have a chance to be close to again because we don’t see each other as often or are in different countries

ADDING ONLY PEOPLE YOU KNOW
So i make it a point to only add people I know as friends … and at my last count … that’s 300+ already!!!

I tell friends who ask me about Facebook that its not a popularity contest … its just a wonderful space to deepen your relationships with your friends when you have the time.

So just a note to anyone who reads this and doesn’t have a Facebook account (yes …. Shaozie … I’m talking about you too) …. get into Facebook soon! It really is a wonderfully positive way that the internet has evolved into …. it now connects all of us even more and this time …. in a deeper and special way.

On another note …. sorry if i don’t add you as a friend there. I’ve ignored a lot of requests from people I don’t recognised … so if we’ve met before but u haven’t gotten a response to your “Add As Friend” request … drop me an email.

I already have trouble keeping up with all 300+ of my friends. Adding people I don’t know and having to read their messages, invites and receive their gifts, to me, defeats the purpose of what Facebook is all about.

FLOODED WITH NOTICES!!! WHAT DO YOU DO?
For those who haven’t tended to their Facebook and have 50 – 100 notifications about events, hugs, games, things …. I say just delete all of them. Start from nothing … then slowly take your time to see who you want to pay attention to and which games and things you want to participate in.

SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT WHEN YOU SEND THINGS TO YOUR FRIENDS
When you invite your friends to games or send them things …. make an effort to think if your friend will really appreciate the game or gift or quizz before you hit the send button.

Your credibility with your friends on Facebook becomes affected if your friends think you’re a spammer …. you send everything to ALL of your friends without any thought or consideration. They’ll end up not paying attention to anything you send them in time. Think the boy who cried “wolf”.

So with that … i hope you have a good Sunday .. or I hope you’ve had a good weekend. I’m headed off to cook something to eat. Being vegetarian means its easier to eat at home than to venture out for food.

Happy Facebooking!