Facebook : an update

Just another batch of random thoughts about Facebook :

• First of all , i think it is really odd the amount of information people are willing to share with the world... If a few years ago, someone you barely walked up to you and said : "Give me a detailed list of all your friends !" you would have probably told him to shove it, now they don't even have to ask, they just have to take...Just type up the name of someone you know and you'll instantly who he knows, what movies and TV shows he likes / dislikes , where he works , religion & politcs views , what people think about this person...for free!! Tom Selleck can go home , no need for PIs anymore :)
  
  
• That brings me to another point : recruitment processes . Before these social sites, recruiters didn't know much about you except what's in your resume and what you were willing to tell. They had to resort to some graphology bullshit to see that you didn't pee standing up. Now they can get, for free, a lot of information about your private life ( see above ).
  However, this goes both ways : suppose you're about to accept a seemingly interesting position and Mr X is your future boss. You could just type the guy's name on Facebook and see that he's your complete opposite , that 12 people nicknamed them "Least interesting person i know" , and then it hits you : you don't want to work for that jerk !
  
  
• Even if some connecting / reconnecting can of course take place, i mostly see it as a platform for broadcasting yourself : Two years ago you would never have called 100 people you barely know and say : i just uploaded 100 pics of my kids trip to the zoo, i demand that you comment them all , and i've already put your name on your face on each photo. You would have said "See you in court ! " and you would have been right ! Or someone calls you and said : "I've colored a map of all the places i've been ! Wanna see it ??" You would have probably said : "What are you doing on wednesday night ? I'm having dinner with a few friens and we would LOVE if you came !"
  You can also say just about anything you want about yourself, and if someone says something you don't like about you : just delete it !
  
  
• There's also the "popularity contest" : Just as money made wealth quantifiable, social networks have sort of provided a metric for popularity : Just to keep up with the game, you add people you would never been caught dead calling...
  
  
• One last thought, what's the deal with Facebook's inbox ?? you can send messages to your friends , this would be a great to communicate if someone hadn't invented email! I don't get it .

See you on Facebook :)