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Thursday, September 30. 2010
Will Wonders Never Cease!
Saw an interesting phenomenon on Facebook the other day. Well, maybe it isn’t quite a phenomenon, but what the heck, Facebook is a social networking site and if we can’t be overly melodramatic on a social networking site, where can we go over the top?So, there I was looking at stuff, one beautiful woman in particular, and up on the top right side of the page, appears these different “things” that we are given the option to like. We really don’t get an option to dislike something or dismiss the offerings, not that I can notice, so I usually click “Like” or wait for the system to load the next thing to like or ignore.
I ignore a lot! Let’s face it, there’s a lot not to like on FaceBook! It’s asked me to “Like” Sarah Palin’s page at least a dozen times! I may click “Like” next time just to see what she has to say.
A little background on Social Networking is in order here. Truly, some people are ignorant about it. Everyone knows MySpace came before Facebook and for a while, MySpace was thee social networking site to be using. There was another one before MS, can’t remember the name of it, but it got quite a bit more risqué than either Facebook or MySpace — and those were mainly teenagers on that site. But, teens being teens … well, let’s just say I had to stop viewing it.
There was even a social networking site before that one as well, but I’ve forgotten the name of it too; we’re talking ten years ago or more.
Social networking sites have been around since the advent of the Internets. Some people might actually remember “bulletin boards,” the first social networking sites. Granted, the BBS’s were limited, mainly by technology because they required the users to dial into them with extremely slow modems, but like-minded individuals could chat with one another, trade info (and eventually photos) and even plan face-to-face meet and greets.
And we have a guy by the name of Ward Christensen to thank for “bulletin boards” and by default, the Internets. He coined the term “bulletin boards” after comparing them to the actual corkboards we often see in grocery stores cluttered with flyers and business cards for lawyers, accountants, painters and maid services.
He also started the very first bulletin board in … 1978, I think.
This was all Geekville though — until the mid 1990’s when the big new technology, computers, took a giant leap forward and the Internet was created in the form we now know it … in a historical, “we’ve moved way beyond that” sort of way. Remember America OnLine — AOL? There are people who still have AOL e-mail accounts. Frankly, I thought there were done when AOL’s stock plummeted, nearly destroying the 401k accounts of my co-workers at Time Warner. You see, AOL and TW merged at the end of 2000 and shortly thereafter we found out AOL’s wealth was … less than advertised, to put it generously. But that’s a different story.
And let’s not forget about Compuserve. I forget who gobbled them up.
Back to Facebook. So, for a long time MySpace was the site to join. Everyone was on it! All the cool people and people like me who wanted to be … err … friendly … with the cool people. Initially I joined MySpace to chat with Playboy models. Exchanged messages with women like Jaime Hammer and Breann McGregor at first and when I friended my first Playmate — Miss October 2004 Kimberly Holland — I was excited beyond words! This was late 2005.
About a year later I got into an ill-fated venture with a rock band and started a MySpace profile just for that purpose. My original MySpace profile got deleted — some asshole decided there was too much sexiness on it — so my music profile became my primary profile — with very strict and private settings.Then along came Facebook. Now, the differences between Facebook and MySpace are epic. MySpace diehards refused to make the switch and quite frankly, I like MySpace specifically for my … err … prurient … interests. People still us it of course, every time I log into it there are new bulletins and postings, but, at the moment, FaceBook is the site to be on.
Including all my family members. Now, the family is fairly conservative, by my standards. A few of them, well, they like Glenn Beck, Sarah Palin and that kook in Nevada, Sharron Angle.
Angle is the Republican who wants to do away with the Veterans Administration, although she tried backtracking on that for her campaign against Democrat incumbent Harry Reid. But she’s on video talking about privatizing the V.A. and making veterans pay for services. For those who may not know, government made a promise to veterans to take care of us for our service to our nation.
Every now and then, because some of my family and friends “like” these people and some of their strange organizations, the offer to “like” them comes to my profile as well. Fortunately, we can always ignore them.
So, up pops ABC Nightline and it asks, do you “Like”? Well, yeah, I like Nightline, occasionally watch it when The Daily Show and the Colbert Report are in one of their (too) many breaks. Nightlineused to be a daily “must watch” program, until Jon Stewart and then more specifically, Stephen Colbert caught my attention.
Okay, gotta click “Like” for this one, but wait! There is one person — ONE — in my friends list who also likes Nightline: my sister, affectionately known as MLou.
“MLou” goes back a few years when she had an e-mail address that was MLou@wtf.com Wasn’t actually “wtf,” but this is an attempt to protect her privacy, although I’m outing her a little more indirectly in this rant.
MLou is the one who consistently sends out those silly e-mails about whether or not President Obama is actually an American! Oh! And he’s secretly a Muslim. Now, instead of responding, I just read’em and delete’em. Mlou is also a big fan of Sarah Palin, Sharron Angle, Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity and … there are a few others that slip memory at the moment.Well, that’s cool. Everyone is entitled to their opinions, even if they’re goofy. And she’s my sister so I love her dearly despite her … peculiarities. Mlou is the sister who, 37 years ago, gave me a copy of The Exorcist to read when baby-sitting for my eldest nephew. Thanks to MLou, I didn’t get any sleep that night, sitting up, huddled on a corner of the couch, MLou’s black fuzzy picture of the devil above me, reading word after word, entranced with every page and too frightened to sleep, long after sunrise. Read The Exorcist in one sitting. Had to, I was too scared to stop.
So, wonders never cease, my sister likes ABC News Nightline. And all this time I thought she didn’t like news and only watched FOXNews. Reminds me that at one time MLou had sensible social and political views. Eh, maybe she’ll wise up. I’m always happy to be her shining example!
On a different note: It was 26 years ago today that life changed and I quit drinking alcohol and using street drugs, including the allegedly harmless marijuana. Most of the time it’s been a great quarter-plus century, but there have been tough times as well.
Learned a few things along the way, like “Pain is the touchstone of spiritual growth,” “sobriety is its own reward,” “I searched for the enemy that I could not see, when I looked in the mirror the enemy was me,” and finally, “To thine own self be true.” That’s the tough one, even after all these years.Thanks to all my family: Elaine, Cheryl, Mary Lou, Rick, Tony and Ken, and their respective families, and my dearest friends Dan, John, Eric, Ilona, Dave, Terri, Lisa Lisa — and Brian, R-less Lary, Gregg, Gregg, Dave, Dave, John, George, Pete — and Lisa — Gary, Casie, Sarah, Sarah, Heidi, Cat — and Tom — Liz, Alan, Jerry, Doc, Paul, Bill and Bill, JULIE!, Scott, Alejandro, Fred, Fritz, Dr. Joe, Curtis, and many, many more that have escaped my memory over the years, but, there are two that should be mentioned: Terri and My buddy Sam. And someone newer in my life, the lovely Claudia. You inspire me to remain positive.
Thanks and much gratitude to all, I couldn’t do it without everyone of you.
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