I've been toying around with Facebook now for several months, and I have to say that I really like it. Like many taking their baby steps, I was borderline obsessed for a short while -- throwing strawberries at my friends, insisting on more cowbell, and mapping out the countries where I've traveled. If some or all of this doesn't make sense to you, don't worry -- it didn't to me either until a short while ago.
I haven't written about it before because I suspected that I might be going through a honeymoon phase and would grow bored after a while, but that's not been the case. In fact, if anything, I've become increasingly enchanted because -- over the last month or so -- genealogists seem to be flocking to Facebook.
I think what especially appeals to me is the ability to socialize between conferences. So many of us just see each other once a year or communicate only by email or message boards, but Facebook provides the means to link with folks and lots of alternatives for letting someone know that you're thinking of them. And yes, I know you can socialize in a sense by email, but this is frankly a lot more fun. Facebook overall is pretty darn playful.
As I've become more familiar with Facebook, I've started experimenting to see how this social networking tool can also be used for practical applications, such as communicating in a public forum with RootsTelevision.com viewers and -- my latest experiment -- using this environment to assemble a team of genealogical volunteers to help coroners' offices tackle the problem of Unclaimed Persons. And so far, I'm impressed.
So please consider this your invitation to join me on Facebook in any or all of three ways:
-- as my friend
-- as a friend of RootsTelevision.com
-- as a friend of the Unclaimed Persons research initiative
If you're already on Facebook, you already know how to add me to your friends. And if you're new, you'll have to register, but it's free. And I suspect you're going to have lots of fun finding all your other friends who are already on there!