"And yet, all the same - life and human nature being what they are - with a new generation always coming up, the most satisfying thing really is to reach the end of the race with the same companions who were with you at the starting post." ~Cicero
I blogged not too long ago about my grudging acceptance of Facebook as a social network phenomenon. I know teens and 20-somethings use it to keep in touch on a daily basis. Those of us over 30? I wasn't sure how useful or compelling it would be. But now that I've belonged for a few weeks, I have to say...I'm a convert.
Why?
Well, first off, some people from my past have discovered that I'm a writer, and being either curious or happy for me, they've gone out to buy my books. So it turns out that conventional wisdom on my author loops is right: Facebook is yet another avenue for author promotion...and you know I'm all about exploring as many of those avenues as I can!
But beyond that, I've had the very cool experience of reconnecting with friends I never thought I'd see or hear from again. It's amazing how quickly technology can join people, across time and distance. Case in point: last Tuesday, a dear friend from high school ~ one of those people you have a complex relationship with that you can't really make sense of when you're only 16 ~ sent me a "friend" message on Facebook. After I picked myself up off the floor from shock, I messaged him back. Five days later, we were having dinner together, after nearly 20 years of losing touch.
Surreal, right? But also very cool, and very worth joining Facebook in the first place. Plus, he's led...shall we say...a colorful life in those last 20 years, so I may just have found myself inspiration for a really interesting character in an up-coming novel.
I do need to do more to push the promotional aspect of Facebook, I know, especially since I never gave in to the MySpace craze. But for now, it's just sort of neat to see who pops up on my "Friends" page, who comes back into my life to remind me of the person I used to be, and who leads me to write yet another story that explores the ways in which our pasts influence our presents and our futures.
3 comments:
Love it that you're connecting with old friends. Very interesting!
I've found so many of my college and even a few high school friends through facebook.
I keep meaning to comment about Twitter. I've been on it about a year and a half vs. a few months with Facebook. It's like a weird combination between blogging and chatting. You can "tweet" only 140 characters at a time, so it forces you to be concise and creative with your thoughts.
I began using it to keep in contact with college friends and branched out from there. Now, I'm following local Clevelanders, science type people, other Dads, etc.
You should give it a try :)
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