An unprecedented relationship

Facebook and Yelp are obviously talking now. They've gotten together to poll me on which of my "favorite" restaurants I like better. To be clear, Facebook is fishing my Yelp reviews for content in the hopes that I will... click??? Well, they would have NO IDEA that a restaurant of Mediterranean tapas doesn't compare with a French bistro. Bastards. What's sad is that I voted twice without even thinking out it. They got me where it hurts.

Ahem, I guess the joke's on me. They don't want me to just "click." I am making them intelligent about me so that people like me can sell more stuff to me--stuff that I am likely to like. I gotta say, computer chip in brain doesn't seem that far away. #scary

Another Facebook Hypothesis (because they never get old)

So much writing all in one day. I probably should have just written in my actual diary. But hey, that's for personal and emotional development. Blogging publicly is for sanity.

So I was just thinking about Facebook and my oh-so-many photos on there. It's an interesting chronicle of my life really, since Facebook has more about my last seven years than I care to remember.

And then I think of "all the lives I've lived..."

Maybe this doesn't happen to everyone. Maybe some people are the same as they've always been and nothing ever changes, but I am not one of those people. Through my travels especially, I have continuously morphed into my surroundings. Sometimes reluctantly, sometimes daringly. Nonetheless, I always have the memories of what's preceded me, and where I've come from--the journey. I think recently I became engulfed in my current life and forgot this.

My Facebook observation is this: those 700+ pictures, those countless "friends," those marked memories splashed across the internet are archives of what has really happened. They are evidence of my journey. And every place I move to or work at is somehow involved in what becomes "me," both in real life and in my digital life. So I guess I'm starting to recognize Facebook as something of a yearbook or autobiography even. But maybe that's giving it too much credit...

If Facebook chooses to show me memories that I have forgotten either by choice or circumstance, then what can it mean for people who are aging or becoming ill or living alone? Surely there must be some good in this machine that is not for sale or badge honor. If I can walk through the ups and downs of my life on Facebook and feel compelled to write about the journey, then surely there is a powerful force of good that I previously did not see.

Second entry

Holy crap! I've made it to the second entry!

I know, I know. It must be cheating if I've done it the same day as the first. I just have so much I want to say but I want to avoid the long, drawn-out, here's-my-life-in-a-messy-pile posting.

Previously I mentioned Facebook, and you could say the #1 social networking site is one prime reason that I am here writing today. It's ridiculous to think of, but I had one of those "Facebook relationship" days. You know, the one that starts out all hunky dory with you getting poked by your sweetheart. Then, without warning, you go to poke him/her back to realize they've changed their profile picture and you're no longer in it!

Ok, ok. Calm down. He's not mad. Wait, did I do something? What did I say to him? Do you think he's pissed? No, no. It's just Facebook. He doesn't think like that. He just changed his picture without thinking...


But why did he change it back to a picture from when before we met? Why did he select THAT picture when he couldn't stop raving about how much he loved that one of us from the wedding? Was he lying? Did he just want something from me? OMG OMG I MUST FIND OUT WHY HE CHANGED IT!!!


And thus you can see my reason for needing to blog. I literally went off the deep end in my mind in an almost high school like fashion. It was all about passing the note between desks and does he know I like him and what if he saw me in gym class and doesn't like me anymore. Ridiculous. I'm a grown woman with every confidence of where my relationship stands. Yet silly Facebook caused me to question my behavior, affections, and worth? Shame on you Facebook.

But really, shame on me. Just because Facebook showed up to connect me with old friends and help me feel famous (over 700 photos!) doesn't mean that real life is of no consequence. I spend days not checking Facebook and you know what I'm doing instead? Living in real life. I know we have our phones and iPads keeping us in, but I'm feeling the need to take steps out of that relationship. Facebook and I got pretty serious there for a minute. So now that I want my life back, I will cordially accept Facebook as my acquaintance (since it surely can't be trusted with my emotional health).

Ciao for now.

First entry

I've written the words "first entry" plenty of times. It's safe to say this won't be the last time I write them, nonetheless I just felt like blogging today. Not Facebooking or Tweeting or even Yelping. Just writing uncategorically with no pre-fill template (er, sort of). So let's dive in.

I work in advertising. I'm 26 years old. A decade ago I never dreamed of being in this business. Surely it's not too far off; I always loved performance and investigation. Still, after cracking through it day after day, I wonder what the hell else there is or how I can simply make this better. Once interested in ecology I was convinced I'd be testing water quality for the rest of my life. Now I test ads in front of focus groups and representative U.S. samples. The best part about everything though, is that I'm always learning something new.

Six months ago I started at an agency in Dallas and nearly had my life flip on its head. Well, that's an exaggeration but there were some surprises. Working without a boss has left me stranded though not without hope; I learn not through formal training but through the scientific method of observation and hypothesis. But when time is our scarcest resource, and it often is in advertising, I've learned that observation and hypothesis happen swiftly and strategically.

So what does it all mean? I don't know, I don't have a point yet. But that's all part of the journey. Maybe if I start tracking what I'm doing and learning in life then I can start measuring it in something other than Facebook.

To be continued...