Jon Sampson

Now that Facebook is open to anyone (not just college students), I’ve seen more and more posts by guys over that 30-35 year-old mark about how they just don’t get it. It’s funny, because I’ve NEVER heard anyone younger say they don’t get it. Some say they don’t want to waste time with it, etc. But they know why it’s there.

I have to admit, Facebook wasn’t big when I was in college. People were addicted to instant messengers, but that was about it. When Grete and I joined Facebook, we were among about 30 people from TCU in our graduating class. It’s amazing how much it’s grown. My opinion? It’s head and shoulders above MySpace, and a great way to keep in touch with some people.

So, for you older folk, here are a few things you should “get” about Facebook:

• MySpace may have been about numbers of friends, but Facebook is more about interaction.
• Email? Who needs it? A lot of youngsters now just message each other on Facebook.
• It’s a great way to keep in touch with people you haven’t seen in a while. If you just have friends you currently know, you won’t really have much a reason to check it.
• It’s a great way to get to know some of those ‘surface friends’ a little better. There’s info on their profiles, you can write something quick on their wall. You can see if they have a blog and share pictures.
• That “no one seeing your profile until you approve them” thing can be changed, but it’s really a good thing. I know who can see my info and who can’t. People still have to be careful, but it’s much easier to manage your info.
• And most important of all, with the status feature, I may not have talked to someone in five years, but now I can know that yesterday, they were fixing tacos for dinner. My life is now complete.

So some of it may seem a little silly to those people immursed in the “real world.” But hey, now that Grandmas have MySpace pages, social networking is a “normal” thing. If you want to dive in, Facebook is cleaner, easier to use, and more private than MySpace.