If you have ever wondered what Facebook is all about, let me tell you a little story. I am not going to explain what Facebook is; that is discussed enough a around the net. The Facebook home page explains it clearly enough.
Ok, the story. Newton was our little 5-year-old Yorkshire terrier. We had had him ever since he was a puppy. He had annoying traits, but he was very lovable and loyal.
At 7:30 pm on October 29, Newton and Boomer (our boxer) were on their tie-outs outside doing their evening business. The same place they have done their business every night for the last 5+ years.
Tank is a one-year-old pitt bull that lives in the house behind us. When I went out to get my dogs, Tank was hovering over Newton biting him. I tried to kick him off but to no avail. And the biting soon turned to mauling. I ran to the garage to get a shovel to try to defend my dog, but by that point it was too late. Tank had him by the neck and was shaking him. Newton was gone.
Needless to say, it was a fairly traumatic event for our family. It was for me because I was witness to and played a part in the scene (by trying to defend my dog). The kids were crying. A police officer and animal control officer were sitting at our kitchen table going over the event. It was a big deal.
By around 9:30 things had started to calm down. Reality was setting in. We had a cry or two.
When an event like this comes along, it is a big deal. Big deals always create a feeling that the event needs to be shared with someone. I thought of Facebook and decided to write a status report saying what happened. I just said “Mark and his family are mourning the loss of our Yorkshire Terrier that was mauled by the neighbor’s pitt bull”. I’ve got about 80 friends or so on Facebook and thought I could share it there.
About 20 minutes after I wrote the note, one of my friends wrote on my wall (if your don’t know what that means, it’s a Facebook thing) expressing fealings about it (“kill the pitt bull”). This person and his wife was someone that I worked with while they were students about 6 years ago. I have had no real contact with them since they left but had seen them on Facebook and reestablished a connection. I am not even sure where they are living now but through Facebook I have a connection with them and was able to share something with them (on both giving and receiving end).
So that is what Facebook is. It is about sharing things with people that you are connected with. This is so easily translated to business and personal and anything. It is really kind of an amazing thing.