Culture

Why FaceBook and Company Aren’t Really Web Pages

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Facebook has been in the news with it's recent announcements, changes, and of course, new features.  Over and over again I hear the same arguments about Facebook – lack of privacy, settings too obscure or complex, everything changes so much.  Facebook is this giant morphing ball of "stuff" that everyone likes and no one is happy with.

I'd like to focus on the complexity issues with Facebook, the arguments that its too hard to change settings and that when you dig into it, Facebook can actually be quite complex.

The complexity isn't a surprise to me, but I think it surprises many people.  The reason it surprises them is that they're treating Facebook like a web page or web tool, like a Google search or a Twitter feed.  Facebook is not a simple web page/tool.

Facebook is a web-delivered application (bordering in some cases on being an operating system as well).

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Fandom Advantage: Netowkring

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Networking is the key to success.  I know, we hear it all the time.  I say it all the time.  We're all a bit sick of hearing it really, especially those of us that feel guilty that we don't network better.

But, herein lies another advantage to being a fanboy, fangirl, otaku, and utter geek: we have tons of networking resources.  That's something we should appreciate.

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Fame: The Fifteen Minutes Has Changed

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I'm not a big fan of fame for fame's sake.  Fame is vastly overrated if you ask me – and if you don't want to ask me, spend ten minutes online searching for celebrity meltdowns, famous scandals, and the like.  You'll quickly realize fame really is kind of overrated, and is too often transformed into infamy.

On the other hand, fame is a very useful tool – if you pursue it with the intent of actually using it.  Being known gets you jobs, gets you contracts, gets you roles, and so on.  Fame as a tool, where you are it's master not the other way around is quite useful.

So frankly, you're going to have to confront the issue of fame in your life and career – can you use it, how do you want to use it, how do you get the right kind, etc.

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