Facebooked

Filed by: Darren on July 5, 2007 at 9:12
Filed In: Life, Work

My Facebook Friend... I've finally succumbed and joined that-there Facebook thing, after receiving a friend request from Paul Cornell this morning. Paul's such a lovely chap (as well as writing some of the very best Doctor Who scripts of the last three series) that I just felt it would have been supremely churlish of me to refuse. And besides, he's going to be turning 40 very soon, and I'd hate to upset him this close to the big day... >:)

So, anyhow, I'm on there now - under my nom-de-RL, Darren Turpin (not to be confused with the other Darren Turpin on there, who may or may not be the other other Darren Turpin, the one who writes video game reviews for several publications; he isn't me either, in case you were wondering...) - if anyone wants to, you know, be my friend. Hey, I promise to share my sweets and swap my bestest star wars cards and not tell tales on you and let you use my tree-house, and everything. Can't say fairer than that.

Seriously, though, does anyone know if Facebook has a genuinely practical application, or is it just yet another dangerous, time-consuming, life-sucking fad? No, please, do let me know, I'm genuinely interested in whether or not I ought to be talking to my clients about developing a presence on there...

Filed on: July 5, 2007
Filed under: Life, Work
Tagged with: Facebook | Paul-Cornell |

Print this Item

Send by Email

Comments

16 Responses to 'Facebooked'

Eddie Cochrane on July 5th, 2007 9:43 am

Clearly a dangerous, time-consuming, life-sucking fad, as it has been barred by my companies internet gateway in the past couple of days. Granted I've only been using it a week or so, but I'm just not feeling the excitement yet.
Ariel on July 5th, 2007 9:48 am

Hi Eddie - Yeah, that's what I was wondering... where's the excitement? I mean, it's basically an extended Outlook contacts folder with hyperlinks, right? The vast majority of MySpace pages might look like complete crap, but at least you can listen to music while you're there...
James on July 5th, 2007 11:24 am

I don't get it either.
Lizzy on July 5th, 2007 4:30 pm

I'm not too sure about facebook. I like myspace because you can browse peoples profiles and so it's easy to find people you might want to get to know/listen to their music/ find new authors/generally network. Facebook seems far more of a clique and less open.

From a marketing point of view I'd have thought myspace was an easier tool.
Ariel on July 5th, 2007 5:06 pm

Good point, although I think to be fair the two sites have a quite different ethos. Facebook was set up as a US University networking site (or dating site, whichever) whereas MySpace is an updated version of the old GeoCities free website concept - somewhere to dump your own content, but with added bells & whistles. So it's probably a case of horses for courses.

Marketing-wise, and with authors in mind specifically, I'd say that neither are going to be as effective as having a good, themed website packed full of the sort of interesting, relevant content that people actually want to find, but it is a good way to drive extra eyeballs to a properly-built, dedicated site.

The thing to bear in mind is that it's a numbers game - those extra eyeballs are more likely to be curious passers-by, friends of friends of friends following random links etc. as opposed to genuinely interested fans or readers who are looking for more information. I still think they're more likely to have Googled the author and found their main site instead...
Lizzy on July 5th, 2007 8:03 pm

Well yes, but I was meaning more for if you don't know of someone and you get an add request from a new author/band. I've come across new authors who I wouldn't have found any other way or until you had reviewed them. And I've found loads of new bands. I do think they should all have decent websites too, which are linked.

But it's still a big time drainer.........
Joe on July 5th, 2007 8:14 pm

I got tagged by a couple of folks for Facebook too and took them up, but I don't really see much use from it so far either, I use it even less than the MySpace account.
Ed on July 5th, 2007 8:24 pm

Had a quick look at it, ran away again and hid. How many of these kind of sites do we need anyway.
MySpace is good for new bands, let's them get their name and music out there quickly without having to set up a proper website. This can be done later as interest increases.
mhayinde on July 6th, 2007 2:36 pm

I'm completely hooked on Facebook... But there is no real use to it apart from wasting countless hours joining groups and spying on old friends. I'm going to send you a friend request now!
Modupe
Ariel on July 6th, 2007 3:43 pm

Lizzy - Yup, definitely more fun to be had on MySpace...

Joe - Where the hell are you hiding then? You're not coming up on any searches...

Ed - LOL, probably very wise mate...

Modupe - request accepted! Does that pic of you with a chess board mean you actually play chess, btw?
mhayinde on July 6th, 2007 4:02 pm

I've just written on your wall!
Ariel on July 6th, 2007 4:07 pm

Ooh, ta.

What happens when you 'poke' someone, btw? It sounds unnecessarily suggestive to me...
mhayinde on July 7th, 2007 12:38 pm

Yes it's an interesting choice of word! When you "poke" someone, they get a little alert message which says you've poked them. I think it's just a quick way of saying hi to someone.

And then there’s SuperPoke, and Poke Pro… (you can choose to do something to someone you know, eg hug them, slap them, etc…)

Yes, I am a Facebook junkie!
Ariel on July 9th, 2007 2:21 pm

Ah, I see. Still sounds dodgy (Poke Pro? C'mon!), but I get the gist... :)
Christopher Teague on July 9th, 2007 2:38 pm

Facebook just looks much so much nicer than MySpace. Plus it's not owned by The Dirty Digger. ;-)
Ariel on July 9th, 2007 3:22 pm

Yeah, there's that to be said for it as well. Just give it time though, eh? Or has Google nabbed it already (in which case we can expect to see all functionality development stop pretty much pronto, if Blogger is anything to go by...)