So I have now joined Facebook. I am one of about 30 million others who are now connecting through this amazing online social networking tool. To be honest, I can’t decide if I like it or not. I certainly see the potential that it has…but I am just not totally sure about it. I hear from others that it can be addicting…a bit like the “Crackberry“. Well I can see how that it could happen…the more I visit it the more I feel compelled to go back later and see what else has happened, who has joined, what they are up to etc.
Rusty Weston had an good posting on the Fast Company blog today about Facebook.
For those people interested in using social networks to advance their career or manage professional relationships the main case for Facebook isn’t that it’s a perfect site. For better or worse, it’s the site seeing the most rapid growth and functional innovations (mostly by third-party developers). Despite its apparent immaturity, Facebook is arguably the place to be.
Well time will tell if Facebook really is the place to be…
Facebook is a bit puzzling at times. In some ways it seems so much hipper than – and yet still inferior to – Linked-in as a business tool. Facebook may yet lead the way to blend work + pleasure in a social network. From a work/life balance standpoint, it would be nice if one network could serve both purposes.
Good thought…though the blending of work and pleasure can be a challenge for some. It can be hard to know where work stops and life begins when the lines overlap. In my own life, I tend to live with the lines pretty blurred – but not everyone can or even wants to live like that. Facebook will probably expand many people’s thinking on this whole issue – possibly without them even realizing it. It is a good example of social change in action.