I have been keenly following the evolution of Facebook ever since I reluctantly signed up. For months prior to that I had been getting these e-mails from friends who seemed to think that the way to a better friendship would be to post pictures of whatever shenanigans we got up to the previous weekend and make random comments about them.
I can’t even remember what my first post was, but apparently, there’s an app on FB that can tell you all your stats for the year - or since you joined FB. I think It’s a dandy good idea in as far as it gives you a snapshot of what your year was like. It helps you introspect and retrospect quicker, and also shows you how far off the mark your predictions on the World Cup and the Grand Coalition were. The people at FB are quite a clever lot really. They let third parties create external apps that could be hosted by FB. These apps would be helpful, some would be annoying, while others would be just downright mind-numbing. Personally, I don’t care for virtual flaming Sambucas or Coffee. I much prefer a single malt at the local. Coming back to these apps – they helped the geniuses at Facebook plan forward towards inbuilt functionalities.
But I guess the apps became a security threat as more and more Facebookers found themselves giving away their passwords and allowing the third party applications to access their profile information. (This means that you have just given someone somewhere all your info in exchange for a chance to view the most stupid person on FB. If you did that don’t be surprised if the app spat out your profile pic.)
So Zuckerberg and Co. built this monstrosity which (apart from taking over our lives, and becoming an employer's nightmare) has practically created a subculture of random hook-uppery and clandestine pot-licking. Most notorious among these are the inbox and the chat functions. Facebookers have been able to flirt and connive, arrange dates without anyone else being the wiser. I remember when I went online on chat... chat windows were popping up all a-flurry. Out of politeness (or curiosity) I answered a greeting from a fellow earthling... (The rest of the convo went on to win the “Chat Awards”).
Anyhow, it has become the norm for people to use FB and other social sites for their clandestine activities. But it becomes more complicated when your clandé hook-up decides that he/she wants to be your FB pal, doesn’t it? Then he/she goes commenting on everything and LOLing all over everything you say, huh? And then there's the 'view friendship' function. I know a number of peeps who’ve left FB because their clandé life became a nightmare. I think Facebook is going about this the wrong way.
They should instead have an “Add as Invisible Friend” option on FB... kwa wenye nia mbaya kama wewe... na wewe.
Hmmmm. Maybe I should be working for Facebook... Heck, I already am.
