K’s Weblog

Well it’s been 9 whole days now, and I can officially say I’m a Facebook convert.

At last count, there were 116 people on my friends list. All of whom I’ve been friends with at some point in my past and many of whom I haven’t seen in years… a few almost a decade.

Tonight I was asking myself what it was that makes Facebook so addictive? Certainly the ability to reconnect with friends and acquaintances from one’s past. But unlike other sites like Friendster, Facebook seems to have a different feel…

Not everyone has welcomed Facebook with open arms. This week the Ontario provincial government has blocked people from visiting Facebook from within the workplace. It has been restricted in the same manner that the government restricts pornographic material.

One of the concerns listed by Ontario’s Education minister is that they are concerned about the release of information which may be considered private. I have to question whether blocking access to a few specific sites is really a good method of protecting information. With the prevalence of blogging sites, and the ability of people to create their own blogs the ability to communicate information is more widespread than it has ever been.

Perhaps the focus should be on communicating how open information on the Internet truly is. Understanding the environment has always been a more effective solution than shutting it down.

Evidence of Facebook’s pervasive and wide-reaching nature is evident in another Web 2.0 technology: YouTube.

Check the Video… Interesting, eh?

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