Thursday, May 7, 2009

Facebook and FarmTown

My friend Tammy sent me an invitation to join Facebook the other day. My sisters had already joined so I thought I might as well join just to see what all the fuss was about. I already have a Myspace account, two email accounts, on-line banking, and a blog. Plus I have computer logins at school to sign in on the server and the attendance and grading system. Oh, I almost forgot I have another program I have to use with students and parents called LiveGrades.What is one more password to remember? Well, now that I have all of these passwords I can't remember them all, so I cycle through a favorite few. I have no idea which password belongs to which account, so I hope I hit the jackpot every time I sign in. I can't write them down because they expire so often I would never be able to catch up. :)

Anyway, I joined Facebook. The format is interesting, but confusing. Your email account gets filled with notifications that someone sent you something. Everyone wants to add you as a friend, but they do not necessarily wish to speak to you. It is kind of odd. Some folks have two hundred friends or more added to there page. Seriously, how many people can you really talk to even in a year?

I have found some interesting people who I had all but forgotten about. I've found old college buddies and neighbors who moved away a long time ago. I've found some high school folks too. I have enjoyed looking at their pictures and trying to figure out what they are up to, even if I don't actually write to them. It is a bit voyeuristic, if that is even an appropriate word. It serves as a window into their world without having to go through the effort of real and genuine communication.

I wonder if people will lose their ability to have a one on one conversation with another person. We are all about twittering, posting, texting, and emailing now. How I long for a hand written letter with extra stuff added to it like confetti or a newspaper clipping, or a hand-drawn cartoon. I am from the age when we had pen pals. My friends in college would send me letters to camp. My boyfriend constructed incredible letters, which he spent long hours writing and thinking about. I'm not sure I am really prepared for this impersonal closeness of communication.

I am embracing technology in all aspects of my life. Today I had my students create a brochure about a biome and an animal using Microsoft publisher, which would have been completely unbelievable when I was in high school. Our computers had black and green screens. We used floppy disks! I also used my SmartBoard with an LCD projector to check our homework and do lecture notes today. These things are remarkable. But I still want a handwritten letter.

I am also a hypocrit too. I sent my friend an electronic birthday card today, instead of buying her one. You usually look at the card, keep it a few weeks, and then trash it. So, why not just send the birthday greeting electronically?

I am thrilled about this little game I found on Facebook called FarmTown. You tend your farm and earn money to buy animals, seeds, trees, barns, ponds, and anything else you can imagine. Bethany and I have been playing it together. I am almost to level seven. I found an old college buddy on Facebook, and he is playing the game too. We are neighbors in the game. I haven't talked to him in nearly ten years. I still have no idea about his personal life, but he is helping me out on my farm. I am sending him a tree everyday, or some animal as a gift. I go over to his farm and water or rake. I would still rather pick up the phone and talk, but in this new technology age I suppose I'll settle for a game on Facebook.

2 comments:

  1. How funny! I haven't ventured to Facebook yet, maybe I should. Any old college friends I know?

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  2. Jeremy, Karen, Bob, Tammy, John Clise, Eric Illikinen, Jacque(one who had the brain tumor), and April Estep are the only ones I've seen so far on Facebook. You may know a whole different set of people.

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