Happy tenth Facebook

Facebook is turning 10.  Did anyone see that coming?? I didn't- there wasn't even a reminder alert on my timeline, or my Outlook Calendar.  None was sent to my phone either.

Birthdays are a good time to take stock.  Where would we be without Facebook? How many friendships wouldn't exist without it? How many posts wouldn't have gone viral? It's amazing how much one website has changed the world.

I've loved Facebook, and I've hated it.  Loved it because it's put me in touch with old friends, and kept me in touch with family. I've loved it too because it's become priceless as a marketing tool; I can't count how many times I've linked to my own writing on my timeline. As a page manager myself I can appreciate it as an incredible communication and marketing tool.  At times it's brought different issues to my attention through friends' posts, and made me think about life a little differently.

I've had times where I 've been irritated by Facebook too. It has tended to make outrage a little too easy. All someone has to do is post a story, state their opinion.  Then everyone else gets angry too, and when someone enters with a different opinion you can get easily slammed. It becomes too easy to turn on the mute button when you see something you don't like.

I'm irritated by the over-sharing part of Facebook.  I don't need to know how your bare pregnancy belly looks, or even what you ate for lunch.  These are details that aren't exactly vital to how the world works.  I'm irritated by the random friend requests I still get from people, even though I've clamped down on my privacy settings. 

Love or hate,  it's been quite a decade.  I look forward to see what it comes up with next.

Happy Birthday Facebook!