What do you think about the 5K Facebook friend limit? I'll share my ideas in this post.
About the Label:
The new "Social Networking" label pertains to issues regarding social networking and all of the related issues involving social networking.--- Facebook's 5,000 Friend Limit ---
As you know, I have to prove points by setting things up. So this is where I set up the whole story to prove my points. You know I have to offer more than just the main topic. Having said this, it's time to get this one started.The Problem(s) With Facebook.
Facebook is an excellent social networking medium. I feel I have a better connection with friends and fans than I ever have on Myspace. Becoming a Fan (I still hate "Like" replacing "Become a Fan") of things is always great. You can comment on photo albums. If you still enjoy the content but don't have anything to really say, you can always issue a "Like" to material. Facebook is a great service.Having said all of this, though... my problem with Facebook is that it's too personal. I felt happy just casually connecting with things on Myspace. I do have my good friends and all. Only problem is, Facebook is too personal with everything. It tells you to want to search for more friends. There are people whom I want to try to connect with, and no one wants to connect with me. Maybe I am so used to casual connections on Myspace that Facebook seems a bit out of my league at times.
Fallacies of Social Networking.
One of the fallacies of social networking is that your attempts to try to connect with others online... ends up DAMAGING your relationships with others. I always feel like if we can be friends away from cyberspace, we can be friends ON cyberspace. Some people, though, just don't want to connect with me online regardless of my best efforts. Some don't want to stay connected. I mean... I really feel like I can LOSE friends while trying to meet new friends. In fact, I feel like I've permanently damaged the bond I think I have with certain people by trying to connect online with them, and those effects have/could affected me in trying to connect with them in the real world. Imagine trying to say hello to someone, and they don't even recognize your presence or want to talk with you despite your best efforts. Social networking can be a great deterrent to whatever bond(s) you think you have with people. What can keep you connect can actually DISCONNECT you. Sad, huh?Another part of social networking is that people often get rid of certain friends who just feel they are only connected certain people just to look cool. Like, "I'm so cool because I have (someone) in my Friend List!" I try to regularly connect and contact people to show I still care. That's either through Wall posts or picture comments. I try to stay connected. Sometimes, though, I still get dumped. So I don't really know what to think often times.
The 5K Friend Limit Itself.
The main point of this post is about the 5K friend limit, so let me get back to that. The limit is realistic- no one person could have, know, and admire 5K people. All of us even have a circle of friends that we know better than everyone else. Depending on who you ask, there are people accepting of meeting people they've never met in person or those who only want to meet people they actually KNOW. Some profiles may consider you a spammer if you try to meet with someone you don't personally know. The thing is... some people are willing to meet more people (including those they've never personally met), and some others only want to meet people they know and trust. That's why I sometimes try NOT to request new people as friends because I'm scared I won't be accepted in trying to be with people on Facebook. Even people whom I think are accepting of my presence on Facebook are those who I feel don't want to actually connect with me as a Facebook friend.I've used Facebook to connect with friends and reconnect with old friends. It used to be that I only want to be with friends of mine while meeting new people the world over. I even try to connect with old classmates whom I recall. These days, family want to connect with me in addition to meeting other people.
Continually adding new people just adds up the friend count. Thing is, I chose to want to meet more new people. As long as people aren't spammers or any dating-oriented stuff, I am all in for meeting new people. I already have a Facebook fan page (that not many people want to show their support for), so it isn't like I have problems trying to connect with much more than 5,000 Facebook people. And since I'm often times not good enough, I only get so many fans. :(
--- Is the 5K Friend Limit Justified? ---
No one person can ever have 5,000 people to be regarded as friends. Facebook is just too personal to me. No one wants to casually add people. Or maybe I'm so used to Myspace that Facebook seems very foreign to me though I've been on Facebook for nearly four years. I guess the mindset on Facebook is that if you're going to add lots of people on Facebook, you're better off doing so as a fan page rather than have thousands of people tap into your personal material.I am not saying that I agree with the 5K friend limit, but I understand the 5K friend limit. Facebook can be too personal. In fact, part of Facebook's appeal is in trying to connect with real people and stay connected. It's about sharing things you like with others and in having fun all the while. There is also the issue of people who simply connect with others just to have the honor of saying you have certain people as friends. There are those with 5K or so friends who simply drop certain people just because they don't seriously think they are real friends/supporters of the people they are connected with.
I can agree with people who feel like having a cap of 5K friends is unwarranted. I actually feel sad when I lose friends (who doesn't?). I would probably want to be friends with everybody on Facebook if I could (except haters/spammers). Like I said earlier- the 5K cap is understandable, but I don't necessarily agree with it. Facebook is too personal to be
--- Special Request! :) ---
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Just sayin'...
Anyhow, how do you feel about the 5K friend limit on Facebook? What about any of the other issues I mentioned involving social networking in general? I honestly need more people commenting on and sharing my work. Got something to say [that is relevant to this blog post]? Comment! Please? Thank you for reading!
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