Lunch at Facebook

I had lunch the other day at Facebook in Palo Alto, California with a friend, or as employees there call it “the Book” and it inevitably came up during our meal that I had as of yet not joined Facebook online. Well, my friend convinced me of the benefits of being able to keep in touch with business contacts, and another person also pointed out that it would dovetail nicely with my writing blog. So I’ve joined and added links connecting my blog and my Facebook account.


So on “Day 1” of opening what I envisioned would be my professional account I almost immediately find pictures of my college-age cousin playing beer pong and drinking up a storm at Chico with his friends. Ah…I say to myself somewhat initially bewildered…so this is the kind of stuff that ends up on Facebook.

But perhaps I’m being too harsh. I’ve already managed to get into contact with friends I haven’t seen in years, and it’s actually a fairly easy way to keep in touch with people. I’m still not used to the oddity of having people I barely remember or haven’t seen in years suddenly sending a friend request, but maybe I’m just old fashioned for preferring face-to-face conversation. Either way, I suppose I’m getting used to it.

Facebook actually has quite a fascinating mission statement. They want to provide a central point where an individual online can tie all of their disparate emails, blogs, websites, etc. together within a single source. Unlike a search engine that the entire public utilizes, this would provide a much more personalized, individually tailored window into the web for each potential user. Essentially, I’m attempting to use this medium as so many others have, both as a means of keeping touch, but also a way to find new writers and foster more of that sense of an artistic community. I’m hopeful.

Needless to say, lunch at Facebook was delicious, much like the food I eat at Google.