The Elastic Clause
by John on Jan.04, 2011, under Main Stuff
Facebook represents a very strange dichotomy for me. On the one hand, the concept of the service is a wonder to behold: it is a very strongly-focused social networking site allowing vast numbers of people to congregate and collaborate, facilitating events and all that wonderful stuff. It brings people together, which is a goal that at the 50,000-foot level I can appreciate and get behind. But how they have gone about the dirty business of paying for all that wonder, to merely touch upon the subject, sticks in my craw. Specifically the “we own your data and throw the details of your personal life around like a one-dollar chip at the World Poker Tour” bits. So, for the longest time, I avoided using the service, while at the very least just maintaining a profile so I could say “I’m on Facebook, in the same sense that I am on ibuprofen”.
This may have to change in the coming year as I start to, y’know, have a social calendar. I know, it frightens me, too. And not just the whole Big Brother-ness of it, but the fact that I’m not an almost-hikikomori anymore. This shakes up my whole worldview.
