Getting It

As a recent user of facebook, I must say I am remain impressed and am probably hooked on it. Seeing first hand how my own community of friends has rapidly evolved in the space of a few days, it is so easy to see how the network grew exponentially. In fact, I see today that they just passed 100 Milion members.

As well as the rapid growth in my own network, I can actually see how my “friends” are linking up with each other so there is a huge multiplier effect going on as well.

Facebook is one of those applications that you have to use to “get it”. It’s been around for a while and it’s not like I haven’t heard of it before. I just did not understand why it would be interesting. And, remember, I am not exactly a technophobe and I am already an active user of SMS, IM and indeed online forums. But, still, it was only when I actually got started that I saw the attraction.

It’s a bit like eBay in that way. When eBay came into existence (at around the same time as Yahoo and Amazon) I thought it was the least plausible of all of them. Online carboot sale ? Who cares ? Once we tried it out, we were converts!

My friends list has grown from 1 to 55 (and still rising) in 5 days. I have been fairly strict about adding Friends. Obviously I realise that the test for what constitutes a “friend” is not as strong as in the real world although I certainly know all my “friends” personally and I haven’t invited anyone as a friend whom I don’t know reasonably well. I suppose my test is something like whether I would actively accost them in a crowded room to say hello and catch up (even if superficially). It’s not as strong as would I invite them to a party.

It’s clear, though, that most people must use a still weaker test – something approximately equivalent to a passing acquaintance or “friend of a friend”. I have been more willing to accept a request FROM someone than to initiate the request. I would not be at all surprised if I migrate towards the common standard over time. If I did so, I can easily see how I would have 200+