Way back in 2006 when I first dipped my feet into the mysterious waters of Facebook, I can’t say I had a vision of where the social networking site might lead me, if anywhere. As a communications professional I was intrigued by its offering of connectivity but for the most part I just thought, “Wow, this is a cool place to connect with my friends.” Not that many of my friends were there in those days.
Facebook evolved as the whole world climbed on board, but I continued to protect my site from “strangers” even though others—the, ummmm, social media “gurus”—amassed thousands of Facebook “friends” to whom they could ply their wares. Meh, not for me. So what if my Facebook page didn’t provide street cred for my work, that was what Twitter, Delicious, Digg, Reddit, StumbleUpon, SlideShare, Yelp, LinkedIn, Ning, and my WordPress blog were for. Even on Twitter I remain fussy about who I follow. No one yet has shown me the value in amassing meaningless hordes of “followers” who aren’t sharing anything of interest or listening to anything I’m saying.
Alas, Facebook, now in its umpteenth iteration, has changed so much that I have gradually abandoned my ideal of maintaining a cozy space for family and real friends. It has evolved into an unbeatable channel for sharing news not only about what we’re doing but also about cool things going on in our communities, and there is real power there.
Are my Facebook “friends” truly friends? Some are, most aren’t.
Consequently, it was with great interest that I read a local blogger’s rant slamming Anne Jarvis for her column last week on the recent TWEPI debacle (that would be the unarguably dysfunctional Tourism Windsor-Essex-Pelee Island Board). The blogger accused City Counsellor Drew Dilkens of not doing due diligence with regards to his fellow TWEPI Board Member whom Jarvis outed as a creep with a disgusting past. The blogger insisted that Dilkens should have recalled the guy’s sensational case as it had been all over the media back in 1990. And, as further proof of Dilkens’ negligence, he pointed out that he and the offender are, GASP!, Facebook friends. Yep, clearly these two are tight.
So, just a heads up to all you Facebookers out there….keep a discriminating eye on who you “friend”, you never know when some disreputable dude with a past might incriminate you.
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