But it has had its awkward moments too. Without mentioning anyone's names to prevent still more awkwardness, I've had three separate instances for which I wish I had a "do over."
The first one, I reconnected with a friend from high school who I randomly saw in NYC about 16 years ago. He was one of those artsy guys in high school I enjoyed hanging out with, and I told him he was one of a handful of people on FB I wanted to find (I did a search for his name). At the time, I didn't think that sounded weird, but upon further consideration, I wonder if it seemed like I was hitting on him.
The online portal is wonderful for many reasons, but one of the things you lose in communicating online is eye contact and body language (screw emoticons: half the people don't ever use them, and of the other half that do use them, half of them don't know how to use them correctly). So when you type a line of text, it's just hanging out there. And even though the words all have their own definitions, when they are strung together and left there like that without a smile or while seated comfortably, people can interpret things differently, you know? Just reading that line, "you're one of the people I wanted to find on here (FB)" could seem like "I've been searching for you" or something as awkward.
Needless to say, I must have said something to cause him discomfort because I haven't heard back from him since.
<<<---(clever use of emoticon)
My next awkward moment has to do with meeting a local sportscaster a few years ago when we were both guests on a sports radio show the same night. I was on with members of my wife's burlesque troupe promoting their upcoming show (back in the days before burlesque shows became more common than peeing in the morning upon waking), and the host was throwing an on-air sort of" keg party" without the keg.
I recently posted pictures from that night on FB, and I recalled that I had had a good time talking with that sportscaster and thought he was cool (I think I typed "really cool"). Again, the way text can sometimes appear, I wonder if I inadvertently gushed a bit much because we became FB friends and I tagged him in the photo under which I typed "how cool" he was. Not long after, he was untagged, and I couldn't help wondering if my comment made him uncomfortable. I don't need to worry about these things, it just seems like I should.
And finally, I was unaware that every little action you take on FB leaves a mark. It's like when you take your dog for a walk on the street, and he pees on everything. FB is the dog peeing everywhere.
Some old friends of mine and I were reminiscing about people in a photo one of them had posted, and I mentioned one of the people in a photo was on FB and that I had just "friended" him, so I tagged him in the photo. The next day, saw another pic of the guy, and I tagged it, too. And I think I did it one more time. I took a look at his profile a few weeks after the fact, and you have a separate "Jef tagged you here" post for each tag on his wall, like I'm some sort of a stalker.
But I only stalk endangered species fopr the thrill of the hunt as well as the gigantic payday...
That sums it up for my FB awkwardness. It might just be my lack of communicative skills, though. When in doubt, that's always a safe bet.
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Because it amuses me greatly (and please don't be offended if I list a group of which you might be a member), presenting "Facebook groups that make me chuckle":
Gay Marriage Killed the Dinosaurs (I went ahead and joined this one for its clever title alone)
Please stop posting your goddamn baby pictures (this one stung, as I am awfully proud of my baby pictures and post them often)
Fans of Totino's Party Pizzas! (I'll bet every one of the fans is a stoner)
Shut up, Janeane Garofalo! (now see, I think she's funny)
Anyway, thank you FB friends for joining these groups so that I may chuckle.
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Because of blogging now, I can finally take a hiatus from message boards. They were fun and useful in the early days of the web frontier before social networking sites, but they seem rather outdated and old fashioned these days. Plus, I invariably piss off a moderator and get banned or leave a forum in a huff anyway, so this is just easier and nicer without cussing out some idiot half my age who takes her issues out randomly on strangers. With a blog, no one has to read it or interact with it unless they seek it out, and I'm free to wiggle without stepping on anyone's toes. Win!
peace.
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