{"id":192,"date":"2009-03-17T07:38:08","date_gmt":"2009-03-17T14:38:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/techcafeteria.com\/new\/?p=192"},"modified":"2014-10-26T02:13:28","modified_gmt":"2014-10-26T02:13:28","slug":"now-that-moms-on-facebook","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/techcafeteria.com\/?p=192","title":{"rendered":"Now that Mom’s on Facebook…"},"content":{"rendered":"

This article was first published on the Idealware Blog<\/a> in March of 2009.<\/p>\n

…here’s what I want to write on her wall:<\/p>\n

Dear Mom, welcome to Facebook!\u00a0 I’m glad you’re here, because we don’t talk enough, and this is an opportunity to be a little more present in each other’s lives.\u00a0 Mind you, it won’t, and shouldn’t, replace any phone calls or visits.<\/p>\n

Facebook is a bit like taking the big, wide, Internet, and narrowing it down to just the stuff that your friends would show you.\u00a0 It’s nice because we get to catch up with a lot of old and new friends in one place, but that same convenience also makes it a bit superficial.\u00a0 Since almost everything you say on Facebook is shared with all of your friends, you’ll be saying things that you don’t mind everyone hearing,\u00a0 That puts a bit of a filter on some of the meaningful exchanges that are so much a part of our true friendships.<\/p>\n

Another big thing about Facebook is that it is the product of a private company; not a big, amorphous set of connections like the Internet at large.\u00a0 And, since it’s “free”, the business model is advertising.\u00a0 So Facebook is a business that makes money off of your interests and relationships. If that doesn’t sound just a little bit scary to you, I think it should.<\/p>\n

So here are some great things to do and some things to avoid on Facebook:<\/p>\n