The content of this post is a departure from my usual "Reclaimed Self" theme but I thought it important enough to write and I hope you find it important enough to read.
On the off chance that you missed the news (because you most likely live in a hole), Facebook changed it's layout this past Wednesday. These changes were followed by a series of announcements at the F8 on Thursday about new apps, interfaces, and general opportunities for world domination, which Facebook will begin integrating this fall. Naturally, as these changes and announcements took place Facebook and Twitter blew up with people commenting about how they hated Facebook's new layout, they hated the potential violation of privacy the new apps presented, they hated the "over-sharing" taking place in the new timeline, etc.
Well, here's the thing, Facebook is a social media website. If you don't want someone to know that you like your friend's comment about wearing an eye patch to work in honor of "talk like a pirate day," then don't like it. Or, better yet, take advantage of the new Facebook options and create a special "pirate enthusiasts" list and make sure you share all pirate-related online content with only that list.
Yes, the changes Facebook has made in the past week - and will continue to make as it evolves into the world's first gabillion dollar company - will force you to change how you read your news feed. It will also give you new opportunities for connecting with friends, family, and pirate enthusiasts.
I know change can suck. It's hard. But it's necessary. The whole "if it ain't broke..." thing doesn't really apply to today's fast-paced global communication networks - just like it really hasn't applied to anything tech-related since the 1970's. If you doubt me, look at your phone, your computer, and your TV. Unless you're feeding punch cards into your computer to make it run this blog, while simultaneously talking on a Zach Morris-esque phone and watching Modern Family in black-and-white, you probably embrace technological evolution. And with good reason.
Also, let's reserve words like 'hate' and 'enraged' for things like genocide, injustice, discrimination, and douchebags that don't use their turn signals, and not throw those words around simply because you have to scroll a little farther down a page to see if your friend had a good time at Noodles and Company an hour ago.
Here's my final thought on the matter, and a recommendation to any who will take it: When you go to one of your many social sites and you see a note at the top of the screen that says "Facebook/Twitter/Blogger/LinkedIn/YouTube/Hulu/Pandora/PirateFriendster has been redesigned, would you like to try the new layout?" say yes. Give change a try - for more than ten minutes. You may just see the potential outweighs the initial inconvenience.
