Quote:
Originally Posted by Sil_liS
I understand that Facebook works for communication, I just don't understand why email or skype wouldn't work.
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I just had this conversation and it comes down to scale. Facebook is a fast means of mass communication of thoughts, ideas, or events.
I am pregnant, I got a raise/job/promotion, the baby was just born, etc. are all concepts that need to be communicated to a /vast/ number of people (parents, grandparents, siblings, cousins, friends near and far, coworkers, etc.) at a time when time, itself, is at a premium due to this new thing in your life. You simply do not have time for 50+ half-hour-or-longer "catch up" phone calls before someone is upset that it took you so long to reach them. You can replace "phone calls" with Skype conversations, if you will. And if you don't think these things take at least a half-hour, then I am going to wager that you either have never done this or are male and think that the abbreviated conversing with other males is the norm.
Mass emails and blog posts are analogous to Facebook. All are impersonal mass-means of communication. The advantage to Facebook and blogs-with-comments is that sometimes coordination and conversation can take place in the comment section. What started as a one minute post by me to alert my nearest and dearest (and anyone else who cares on the Internet) that I am sitting bedside with my brother who has been hospitalized suddenly for reasons yet to be determined can turn in to my friends arranging to take my mail and bring me food... All from the same information location so as to improve efficiency and remove redundancy.
Mass communication has its place and Facebook is simply one "color" of mass - communication "socks". The color doesn't make the thing inherently evil, just simply not /your/ taste; which is fine.