I love Facebook. Admittedly I feel like a bit of a teenager for using it, and I think The Youngest and The Eldest are perpetually embarrassed that their stepdad can be found within its realms. But there’s just something intriguing in finding out what your friends and colleagues are up to when you’re not around, even if that means reading endless over-enthusiastic status updates telling you that “Joe Smith is glad it’s Friday!!!!!!!!!!”
But what I really love about Facebook is the strange information that it sometimes throws up. And none more so than the music chart that was presented to me in my news feed this morning, detailing the collective favourite music of the 800,000 or so members of the New York network. The full top five is as follows:
1. R&B
2. Rap
3. Hip-hop
4. Coldplay
5. Reggae
I know that Coldplay’s Chris Martin has been working with Kanye West, but I’d still love to see the Venn diagram that shows the intersection between the urban beats of R&B, rap, hip-hop and reggae, and the heartstring-pulling prep-rock of the biggest band to come out of Britain since, erm, the Spice Girls.
Perhaps this city’s collective attempt to be seen as street smart, hard nosed and cool is just a sham. Deep down, they’re as desperate to connect with their emotions through some angst-ridden guitar jangling as the rest of us.
Admit it New York, you’re just a big softie.
Funny, as I set up my Facebook page just last week I laughed to myself about how I may be too old. Then again I have had a Myspace page for a few years so I have convinced myself I am grandfathered in.
What a bizarre combination!
Not sure you still keep abreast of ALL the UK papers, but given that you are on facebook this article might interest you – just goes to show that you have to be aware of your potential audience!
http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/facebook-can-ruin-your-life-and-so-can-myspace-bebo-780521.html
Really enjoying the blog by the way.
I’m on Facebook too, as are people I work with who are much older than me, so I don’t feel too teen like. I’m kind of ambivalent about the whole social networking thing though.
I joined Facebook but just can’t get into it…i guess i don’t know all the ins and outs. I have a spot on MySpace…it’s where i met my guy, my fiance. I don’t go there anymore, it’s just a popularity contest that i can do without now.
Have you seen how many facebook groups are with a general them of “OMG my parents have joined facebook and I wanna die” support groups? Hilarious!