I finally saw “The Social Network” last weekend, and it creeped me out. I’ve got my own Facebook page–mainly music memories and exchanges with extended family and friends–as well as a page for my writing side. I won’t stop using the thing, because it’s too important a marketing tool to ignore. Plus, I’m not sure I could totally stop playing Farm Town, even if I tried. Still, I was uncomfortable with FB founder Mark Zuckerberg, portrayed in the movie and the lawsuits as someone with little concern for intellectual property rights or privacy. Both of those concepts are very important to me.
Then Tuesday came. I was at home, preparing for vacation and popping in and out of Facebook. Here’s what happened in my world:
- A former work colleague and longtime friend’s dog, her beloved companion for fourteen years, died. The friend wrote a moving essay on their life together–and was showered with sympathy, memories, and prayers.
- A high school pal became a grandmother for the first time–and was showered with congratulations, memories, and prayers.
- I posted a link to Bobby Bloom’s “Montego Bay” from 1970 for a writer friend headed there later this week. Then a college pal commented with a link to a funky tune I’d never heard before… and a cousin I haven’t seen for about ten years weighed in with a thanks.
And as I sat here on the seventh anniversary of my arrival in Arlington, Virginia, by way of so many other places, I had to smile. Without Facebook, I’d have heard about the dog via a mass e-mail. News of the grandbaby probably would have come in a birthday or Christmas card. The musical connections never would have happened.
And as one of those friends said today, maybe Facebook’s worth every penny Mark Zuckerberg’s made.
