Your Ex-CoWorkers Will Kill Facebook

Random BedHead Ed writes "Cory Doctorow writes about the downside of social networking on the Information Week site, with a focus on Facebook. While he starts with some minor but insightful quibbles, he quickly moves to a critique of the core of social networking: 'Imagine how creepy it would be to wander into a co-worker's cubicle and discover the wall covered with tiny photos of everyone in the office, ranked by 'friend' and 'foe,' with the top eight friends elevated to a small shrine decorated with Post-It roses and hearts.' Do you really want to add your boss and coworkers to your friends list? (And more to the point, do you really have a choice?)"

Comments

uh, dont use it?

[192939495969798999]

Maybe just don't use it. What is your company going to do, fire you for not wasting work time creating a virtual soap opera?

Re:uh, dont use it?

[AdmiralDouglas]

Pembo13 read the post with a sigh. Thoughts of his lost love came streaming in on him from every direction. The parent's post was all too remeniscent of that seductive MySpace page he fell in love with so many years ago. He was sure she was the one. He knew it down to his bones.

But just as most of the turbulent online relationships he'd known ended up, he too, was doomed to her foe list.

He'd heard so many stories of couples meeting and falling love, when was it his turn? If only they could hear his heart, pleading for their attention! His fingers tapped away a message over the keys. A message in a cyberbottle. A plea.

A plea for a happy ending.

Don't worry, pembo13. Your time will come.

Social Networking Sites in General

[CFTM]

It's beyond me why people are so quick to spill their most personal secrets on a social networking site; it just seems to me that people have no idea that anything that they say, type or post is often available for the world to see. Sorry but I don't like that kind of invasion of privacy and I never have...I can remember being 13 years, being on AOL and being wary to give any personal information out that I would want to be in public domain, but I seem to be very alone in this idea in my peer group (26 now).

Heck, I've even had people I used to work attempt to add me to their friends list and I rejected them. Then again I'm one of those people who only accepts invitations from people I know in the flesh, don't allow myself to be searched for and never post anything on the profile anyways.

Re:Social Networking Sites in General

[Minwee]

It's beyond me why people are so quick to spill their most personal secrets on a social networking site

It's because they're hoping to score with Hot Internet Chicks. Why is this hard to understand?

If playing every Mario game ever made has taught me anything it's that guys will do anything, even eating strange mushrooms and jumping head first into sewer pipes, for the vague possibility of impressing women.

Re:Social Networking Sites in General

[DoofusOfDeath]

It's beyond me why people are so quick to spill their most personal secrets on a social networking site;

Probably the same reason we pick our noses in our cars, despite everyone being able to see us. It feels more private and anonymous than it really is.

Finally

[j.sanchez1]

Your Ex-CoWorkers Will Kill Facebook

At least those idiots will do something right before they die.

Re:People are stupid?

[solar_blitz]

I use LinkedIn for professional networking, and I use Facebook for personal networking. If I know a guy from my work I like well enough to be considered a buddy, I'll add him/her to Facebook. If I know a person on Facebook to be very good at what they do, I'll add them to LinkedIn. It's that simple. It's Structuralism, man - just maintain separate spaces and let them overlap on exceptions only. I'm not going to add everybody I meet at a Conference to facebook, I'll add them to LinkedIn.

I'm amazed there are people who don't do this.

Re:this is old news...

[truthsearch]

George: You have no idea of the magnitude of this thing. If she is allowed to infiltrate this world then George Costanza as you know him ceases to exist. You see, right now I have Relationship George. But there is also Independent George. That's the George you know, the George you grew up with... Movie George, Coffee Shop George, Liar George, Bawdy George.

Jerry: I love that George.

George: Me too, and he's dying. If Relationship George walks through this door, he will kill Independent George. A George divided against itself cannot stand!

Your Ex-CoWorkers Will Kill Facebook

[Jeremiah Cornelius]

Will they hurry the f*ck up already?!

Already and issue on the 360

[RiddleofSteel]

I've already run into this issue with my Xbox360 profile. Several coworkers and I were all on each others friends list to play Gears of War against each other. Then my boss joined us which was fine. Then a month after that I get a friend request from the CEO of the company. At first I thought nothing of it, until the CEO commented on how later I was up on the 360 a few nights ago and how I was 10 minutes late the next day. Now I have two accounts, but what sucks is all my achievements, unlocked content, etc are on the original account. Also I've given up my myspace account(didn't use it much to begin with) because some stalker chick at work kept sending me friend requests and making comments about my profile and pictures. I really don't think this social networking stuff is for the better.

Re:Already killed LinkedIn

[insertwackynamehere]

no linkedin was killed by john wilkes facebooth