Web Two-Point-O Oh No! (lesson 2)

It was my favorite gift that Christmas--a white leather diary embossed with gold letters, a brass lock and key, and lined pages upon which I could write my deepest and most personal thoughts. It made me feel grown up, important, like my thoughts mattered. Never mind that all I usually wrote was what we were served for lunch that day in the Pierce Elementary cafeteria, and whether or not we got to go outside for recess. I kept it locked and hidden away from the prying eyes of my brothers, who would have teased me mercilessly had they ever found it. This was the norm for my generation--diaries and journals were secretive and private, to be shared with no one, not even one's best friend.

I have teenagers. When they first wanted to set up pages on a social networking site, my spouse and I were adamant--absolutely not! Why would you want to put your thoughts, photos, and who-knows-what-else out there for anyone and everyone to see? Over time they wore us down, gradually conditioning us to the concept of life posted on the www. They were a bit older and an eensy bit wiser, so we conceded, and they set up Facebook accounts, which were more of a "college student thing".

Time passed, and our daughter began telling me, "Mrs. So-and-so said to tell you hi." I asked, "When did you talk to her?", since Mrs. So-and-so lives in another state. She replied that they were "friends on Facebook." Hmm...my (rusty) wheels began to (slowly) turn. Were people of my generation venturing into Facebook territory?

More time passed, and I attended the CHPL Staff Development Day in December. The Web 2.0 Committee gave their presentation, and lo and behold, some of my co-workers were on Facebook--and not just the co-workers who are young enough to be my kids, but fellow baby boomer co-workers. It was beginning to feel like a safer place to explore. After all, I had moved around a lot and lost touch with many old friends, even some family members were becoming distant. I decided to take the Facebook plunge.

I enlisted the help of our daughter, and pretty soon I was reconnecting with friends all over the place. I liken it to throwing an open house, inviting people you've known at different times from different places at different points in your life, and a lot of them show up. For the first few days, every time I logged onto Facebook it was like the doorbell ringing and I got to go see who had arrived. This was fun! I didn't have to bare my soul or reveal anything I didn't choose to reveal--just idle chit-chat, brief conversations, a little catching up here and there. The "friend request" frenzy slowed down, and I am able to resist the urge to check it 35 times a day, so fine, I'm on Facebook and feelin' pretty hip.

But BLOGGING?!! I don't think so, Skippy. I'm happy to learn about it--knowledge is good and we're in the "sharing information" profession. I'm sure I'll pick up skills and knowledge from this experience that will help me help someone else. But, I don't see myself maintaining a blog after I graduate from Web 2.0 school. I think I'll still prefer to select a really great-writing pen and record my thoughts on the clean white page of a lovely, leather-covered journal.