Alex Barnett blog

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Thank you Facebook

To everyone at Facebook - thank you. Thank you for creating a space where I've been able to re-connect with friends I've lost touch with. That's a big deal for me.

Since moving from the UK to the States a few years ago, I have found email, my blog and occasional IM a useful way of keeping connected to a small subset of friends I've made over the years. However, these technologies and services haven't compared to the amazing power Facebook has to leverage network effects. I love how naturally one long-lost friend has connected me to another, and find it fascinating to observe how certain clusters of friends who have seemed invisible in the Facebook service become suddenly discoverable via a single connection, cascading one after another in a domino effect.

Thinking about it, I've rarely used a service that has brought me so much emotional satisfaction...connecting with good friends is a feel-good thing and it is this emotional value that makes Facebook hard to beat in terms of the gratification other services can provide. So much so, here I am even writing a thank you note to the service (I can't remember doing that for any service...I've written about how "cool" stuff is, or how useful some service might be...but "thank you"? Never).

I created my Facebook account something like 2 years ago (at least it feels like that...) - more out of curiosity than anything else, yet the value I'm getting out of Facebook today seems to be on the up on a daily basis. I was a rare user for most my early Facebook membership and then my sister encouraged me to log back in this summer...so thanks to her too :-)

So...I just wanted to say it again - thank you Facebook.

Comments

Ryan Stewart said:

Very well said. There's a lot of "bad love" piled on social networks, but being able to connect with so many people that I knew in High School/College is awesome.

=Ryan

rstewart@adobe.com

# November 16, 2007 8:45 AM

Jamie said:

Its quite amazing. Im just 24 but have reconnected with people I went to kindergarten with. 20 years of nothing and then all of this.  It has changed many lives

# November 16, 2007 2:15 PM

John said:

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# November 21, 2007 3:49 PM

Ben said:

Alex,

I want to let you know this made my day. To know that something you create affects people's lives in this way is what makes working here so rewarding.

Happy Thanksgiving.

- Ben

 Facebook Designer

# November 22, 2007 6:58 PM

TrackBack said:

In this season of giving thanks, Netizens feel grateful for the sense of connectedness and reconnectedness brought by online social networks. The big news, after all...

# November 22, 2007 11:43 PM

Matt said:

I echo Ben's comments. Thanks for the nice note, Alex!

- Matt

Facebook Bus Dev

# November 23, 2007 12:00 AM

David Pomeroy said:

Hi Alex!

I agree, Facebook is a blast.  It's a great way to keep in touch with people (including Nat) assuming you can put up with the large amount of "spam" it puts your way... not email spam, more of the "you have an aquarium, john wants to buy you a drink" type variety.  To Facebook's credit however they offer probably the very best personalisation functionality I've seen on a social networking site - and the ability therefore to turn off these messages.

I can highly recommend LinkedIn.com for business networking. I've been on that a few years now and it's excellent.  And no "spam" really either.  And free for all the basic features.

In little New Zealand, oldfriends.co.nz is quite novel: allows you to track down old friends from school / work networks of long ago.  It's a fun trip down memory lane.

Anyway, we must connect on Facebook - given that we're both on there and all.  Love to yourself and Kate - hoping we can catch up soon in US, UK, or NZ.  And if you ever need a bed in NZ, you know there's more than one always available for yourself and family!

David P

# November 25, 2007 1:55 AM