Thursday, January 31, 2008

Could you love Facebook?

This is something I just read, about Facebook. For those of you who have been away from Planet internet, Facebook is a social utility that connects you with the people around you. With a population of users which is deemed to exceed that of UK...it has become a popular way of connecting to people.

This post is a reaction to what the Guardian UK had to say about Facebook..

Interesting..rant if I may call it that. It does have a lot of background information. It is always good to know the background of things you use/ know of/ believe in..however it seems to be nothing I use is devoid of any evil thinking behind it. I use Google (who doesn't) for mail, blogging, photographs and many other things, I walk on streets which are loaded with CCTVs, recording my every move, every time I use my Oyster the Mayor of London, amongst 1000s of other people at TFL, knows where I have been, my credit cards show what I have bought for how much and my store cards tell you what I like, my blackberry tells anyone who wants to know where I am at what time, speaking to who and for how long. I sign data protection statements and then they go and misplace CDs with personal data which is not even encrypted. Wow! And then there is the ability to talk about privacy settings on Facebook! Hello?

It is good to be kept in the know, but I think something good has to be said about facebook too. Apart from the fact that I can now communicate almost daily with people without needing to ring them, I have also managed to locate school friends and college friends as well as Univ friends who are scattered across the planet. I would never have thought of meeting them or seeing them again..but we were great friends when we were in the same geographic location..its good to be able to see them, see photos of their children, who look exactly like them, see videos from the kids I used to babysit, see my neice and nephew who keep traveling the world, I did not have email addresses of all my friends and family to start with, so finding them thus has been good.

Thanks to facebook I can join Anti David Cameron groups, be part of and create pressure groups which have managed to push MNC banks back about some new charges they created for students. Imagine being able to change HSBC's mind without raising placards and walking through wet cold streets in protest. You would say there is something inspiring about marching in protest..I would say not, I was there for the anti-war marches all over UK, the first time around in Afghanistan and the second time round in Iraq, it is not fun, democracy is just about alive anyways...but I digress.

I will not say Facebook is evil scum and should not be used, I will not say it is BAD and should be banned, I would ask what isn't? After all using our options and things available to be used / misused around us for our own advantage is what it is all about. No one is squeaky clean, its is about what you want to see and know about things and then see what you want to DO about them. As they say in Hindu philosophy in the Bhagwad Geeta, everything happens for your own good.

1 comment:

Cynic in Wonderland said...

I guess it boils down to how and when you use it. if you use facebook to substitute life - probabaly not such a good thing. otherwise - just another way of meeting people.

btw i have been trying to comment in a bunch of your earlier posts and for some reason it doesnt get saved!