Posted by Kiel on Sep 24, 2008
So I’m sitting here at a conference in the Westin Hotel, I log into Facebook and see that I have three new friend requests. I think to myself, “woo hoo! Maybe it’s someone I’ve lost touch with!”
So I click on the little link and go to see who’s been looking for me. Out of the three people that requested to add me as a friend, I know one person. The other two? I may know OF that person, but I don’t KNOW that person.
Facebook, my friends, is not a popularity contest. Adding everyone in the world doesn’t make you more popular, nor does it create any real meaningful friendships.
So what are my criteria for adding you as a Facebook friend?
- I must have met you in person at least once and have had some meaningful dialogue with you.
- I will occasionally add you if you’re a friend of a friend… even then I’m still pretty picky.
I know that in the grand scheme of things, Facebook “friends” don’t really matter. But I use Facebook to stay in touch with people I know and to keep them posted on my life. If you don’t know me personally, then there’s really no benefit to being my friend on Facebook.
Who will I de-friend on Facebook? I have had to remove a couple people from my Facebook account, here’s my main reasons:
- If you cuss entirely too much in your status. Seriously, there are various different words to express your frustration.
- If you spam me with a bunch of garbage.
Okay, well, there you go. Now you know what grinds my gears today.
Tags: Facebook, friends, social networking
Posted by Kiel on Feb 7, 2008
Back in 1995, long before Facebook and MySpace, a site called Classmates.com popped up… it was one of the first “social networking” sites. Sure, places existed on the internet to connect (chat rooms, message boards, reunion sites), but Classmates.com made it easy.I signed up for Classmates.com around the year 2000 before I graduated college. Since I didn’t have Facebook or MySpace, it was a great way to see what my friends were up to, unfortunately, to see any real information or make contact, you have to pay. Unfortunately, Classmates.com hasn’t evolved with the times. I am now more connected to my friends in Facebook than I am in Classmates.com.If you look through Facebook, you may notice that the Class of 2001 going forward to today are heavy users of Facebook, while the pre-2001 classes don’t typically have Facebook because it wasn’t around when they were in college (or they were one of the select schools to be on the Facebook platform prior to 2001).
As we look toward the future of the internet, the classmates.com model of having a subscription-based service just isn’t feasible. As soon as new competitors come out with free ad-supported services, they will see a drop in subscribers as those of us who are part of the MySpace/Facebook boom don’t typically have Classmates.com on our radars.
So why am I writing a blog about this out-dated service that I no longer use? Because even though I signed up in 2000, I am starting to get e-mails again from this ancient company. They even claim that I have people writing me or viewing my profile, although from reports I’ve read on the internet, a lot of those are SPAM. There’s not even a way to check to see if it’s SPAM or not unless you sign up for a subscription… WHICH, Classmates.com is notoriously known for automatically renewing your membership and making it hard to cancel.
Kiel’s advice, stay away from Classmates.com. If you’re in the class of 2001, your best bet is to get hooked up with Facebook, which is now open to everyone. If you’re pre-2001, you may have luck with Facebook and possibly better luck with MySpace.
So I’m feeling brave now, I’m going to login to Classmates.com and say hasta la vista baby!
Tags: classmates, classmates.com, Facebook, MySpace, reunion, service, social networking
