Reconsidering Facebook

In late March, I returned from vacation to a very well done article in the Business section of The New York Times: "Is Facebook Growing Up Too Fast?"

The piece noted Facebook's phenomenal growth from a startup five years ago. Last August, the social networking site registered its 100 millionth user. Barely seven months later, it expected to crack the 200 million user barrier. Amazing, no matter what you think of Facebook -- "an essential personal and business networking tool" (NY Times article) or soulsucking, timewasting diversion.

At the time, I was aware of a trend that was slowly becoming more apparent to me -- namely, that as much I enjoyed being on Facebook, especially initially, I was growing more comfortable with my own blog. The trend -- and my comfort level -- has only grown stronger in the past month.

After two full months of blogging, I've been as disciplined as I'd hoped to be, with a new post nearly every single day. I've ranged far and wide on my topics, even surprising myself sometimes from time to time. Along the way, I've also picked up some encouraging feedback, mostly as a result of Lori passing on a comment from a mutual friend but also as a result of a few comments that readers have posted on this or that entry.

The more I've done this, the more I realize I've created an online diary that's a pretty accurate reflection of my interests and whims, even if it's not a guts-out, reveal-all journal that crosses the line into self-absorbed. At least, I hope I haven't crossed that line. In the process, I think a fuller picture emerges than what someone would get from reading my blurbs on Facebook.

On Facebook, everyone (or nearly everyone, it seems) is witty and some folks are obsessed with their own navel, figuratively speaking. On Rough and Rede...well, I suppose it's up to everyone who visits the site to determine whether I'm doing that, too. What I like, though, is that this blog gives me more space to tease out my thoughts and feel like I'm making more of a personal connection with friends, family and -- hello, out there? -- any strangers who might come across it.

Somehow, it feels more intimate, even if still a predominately one-way conversation. I've sharply reduced the amount of time and effort I put into Facebook. Don't get me wrong, it's great in short bursts. But I think I've found a comfort zone here and hope to continue sharing my thoughts and experiences, for what they're worth. Over time, maybe I'll learn more about myself too.

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