Wednesday, June 17, 2009

if facebook were real...




I was reflecting on how sometimes people in my life know things about my life before I do!

An imagined scenario: I am working and perhaps have an evening meeting that has me home unusually late. Something has happened during the day that my wife, the Authoress, has mentioned to friends on Facebook. Perhaps one of those people attends the meeting with me, and makes the startling statement to me: "so, how do you like your new juicer?". "What? Oh, you read it on the Authoress' facebook status. I didn't know we had a new juicer."

When I go home, it is equally startling to my wife to have me respond, "oh, yeah, I know" when she explains that a new juicer arrived today and how delightful the orange juice is from it.


I'm not really going anywhere with this, except to note that Facebook becomes a point of entry into a home, relationship, family, or a life, even when the door is closed or people are not together. It's sometimes jarring.

This video is a sketch imagining if the protocols and standards on Facebook were acted out in flesh and blood, bricks and mortar, rather than in cyberspace. Somewhat amusing, yet also thought provoking.



We don't have a juicer, by the way.

6 comments:

Anne Swartz said...

My new approach to FB, as it is called, is to back off. Only post photos of yourself from a distance and don't put anyone's name on there, especially children's names. I had a close friend, not simply a contact, chatting away with me this weekend, only to ask me for money because she was in trouble. When I demurred, the "friend" became more tenacious. So, I ended the chat and called her house. Her husband answered the phone and I asked him what was going on. He told me nothing, so I told him about the chat. It turned out that three people had chats like I did because someone had hacked into her account.

Anne Swartz said...

Yup, but other friends have now complained that I took down all the pics. I'll be putting some up this weekend. The experience was a bit overwhelming, though.

Justin said...

Hooley Dooley.

Clifford Swartz said...

I had to look up Hooley Dooley! And I found it's an Aussie children's band, but I guess the band must've been named for something else, too?

Justin said...

Hmm. I just searched it. It has some unsavory stuff there.

Bart Simpson would say: "Aye Carumba"

Justin said...

Clifford would say: "Yikes".