February 2009 Archive

I’m sure you all have seen those ubiquitous “25 things you didn’t know about me” lists that are clogging everyone’s Facebook feed. What, if anything, is their significance?

My feelings are that initially, the lists seem harmless and fun, because they enhance the very voyeuristic quality that makes Facebook so addictive in the first place. The lists are surprisingly candid, and it’s nice to get a peek into someone’s pyche beyond the canned-sounded items usually included in favorite book and movie lists.

But! But, there is something deep inside of me that knows that this heralds the beginning of the end for Facebook, if not in terms of mass popularity at least in terms of coolness. There is a short life expectancy for cool things on the Internet, and one could argue Facebooks’s demise began when it began allowing Baby-Boomer-age parents and middle schoolers to sign up. Or, one might argue that Facebook’s popularity has if anything just begun to plateau, since only last month did they officially catch up to MySpace in terms of site traffic.

But the creepy, chain-lettery lists are, to me, at least a signal that Facebook is becoming way too cheesy, prosaic and dare I say, Friendster-y for the cool kids to stick around much longer. Where they will go next, I cannot say.

But Facebook, your days are numbered.