Facebook Users-Maybe You Should Care About What I Ate for Lunch

I've noticed that several people are talking about a recent CNN article called The 12 Most Annoying Facebookers that profiles what they consider annoying Facebook behavior...everything from posting about nothing to sending too many invites to writing posts just to get everyone's sympathy. And while I think there is some truth in the article...Facebook can sometimes make you want to scream "too much information" I have to disagree that these interactions are meaningless and should stop. Sometimes a conversation about nothing is something.

In the non-virtual world (remember that one...the one where people are having face to face conversations) people don't talk about weighty subject matter 24/7. Many relationships start by talking about non-threatening topics like the weather. And even as relationships progress, a good percentage of what people talk about on a regular basis is...well...about nothing. But that's not necessarily a bad thing.

I have a friend who is a real foodie. He loves ethnic specialties and good wine and beer. I don't think I've ever had a conversation with him where he hasn't told me about something he had to eat recently or a restaurant he enjoyed. It's part of who he is...it is what he is passionate about...it is one of his most endearing qualities...so what's the problem? Is it so terrible for someone to post what they ate online?

I have friends who send me cause invitations all the time...I don't respond to all of them, but it keeps me in the know about what is important to them. If we were having a face to face conversation, I'm sure I would hear about the same cause. So why is it less acceptable in the online world?

The article also talks about the sympathy baiters...those just looking for attention. Again I disagree. I think these posts reveal something about what is going on in that person's life on a particular day. If I was talking with them on the phone, they would probably want to talk about the same issue. So why is it not ok to have it as a status update?

Obviously every message doesn't have relevance to every one of your friends. I think that would be impossible to achieve. I post different messages aimed at the different audiences I have on Facebook knowing that some people will be interested and others will ignore it. The point is that your message makes a connection with someone. And that is a good networking strategy.

Online networking tools have pushed the envelope of social interactions and made it easier for people to reconnect and have conversations with large groups of people. To assume that every conversation has to be serious in order to be valuable is missing the point. The point of the whole process is to reach out with messaging that has value to someone...even if it is just one person...that should be enough.

Posted by Barbara Safani