I'm Somebody!

Narcissus fell in love with his own reflection, and was was doomed to spend all of eternity staring at himself. Today, I joined the Facebook frenzy, so now I, like Narcissus, can stare at myself online for all eternity. Unlike the fabled Greek tragi-hero, however, I can update my profile at any time. And this makes all the difference.

The Facebook phenomenon is filled with paradoxes for me. You can reinvent yourself through Facebook, but all your connections are with those who know the real truth about you. You can connect with more people, but how connected are you in reality? Isn't it more like a year-long Christmas card list? You can judge yourself by the number of "friends", but the word "friends" has started to lose its significance and intimacy. It's called Facebook, but isn't it more accurately described as "Face Magazine" - short snippets of life, without the depth of face to face interactions? More communication isn't necessarily better communication.

I'm too old to express myself with a tattoo. Up until today, my attempt at self-expression has been confined to a rotating series of vanity license plates (that only I seem to understand), and a couple of well-worn t-shirts. Everything has changed today, though. I have a page of history on the World Wide Web.

I'm going to go see who wants to be my friend in cyberspace for all eternity .