More on Facebook

It's probably not surprising that most of the in-person discussions about Facebook are with people who use Facebook little or not at all. And, therefore, it's even less surprising that most of the discussions focus on how much (aka too much) information is being made public, particularly by young people who may not appreciate how widely this information is distributed and how long-lasting it may be.
It's doubtful that I've made big changes in anyone's thoughts about Facebook or Twitter or IM or any of the social networking tools or about anything much in general. Nevertheless, here are some thoughts about all of this:

Rule #1 - Don't be stupid.
This rule applies to people of all ages.

• Don't post pictures of you and your drunken friends, particularly at your 19th birthday party, but even at your 39th or 59th. 
• Don't tell people that you've taken your whole family on a two-week camping trip. 
• Don't do this:
  
  
  
  
  Source
  
  
• Don't, well, ..., you get the idea.
  

Rule #1A - You will be stupid.

You will do all of that stuff, and more. All of us have a certain supply of stupid that we have to use up in our lifetimes.
It doesn't mean that we get our tickets punched when we use up all of our stupid; some people live long after they've dispensed with their stupid. They're called wise elders.
There are others, though, who keep going because their supply of stupid is greater than average. We call those people by other names.

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These channels give lots of people an opportunity to share ideas and feelings that they may not be able to share in person for any number of reasons. As a result, the signal-to-noise ratio is not always going to be good. Even professional communicators need editors. (Especially, professional communicators need editors.)
The social-networking phenomenon is allowing people to build, repair, maintain, and, yes, break connections with people across generations, distances, and classes. It lets childhood friends catch up on their lives a half-century or more later. It lets fresh ideas jump into the public square like so many mustard seeds. Out of this cacophony can come greatness. Or something else. It's worth the try.

Get Fuzzy