I was talking with a close friend this weekend about what I'm working on with the library interface, Facebook, etc...
We've had discussions like this before, and when Facebook comes up, he shuts down. "Why would I need to use this? Why would I want to put my personal information out there for others to see?" I can see his point, usually.
This weekend, I took a different tack, and encouraged him to just explore it. Now that Facebook Apps are there, it's gone to a different level. I think it says something for how we will connect to people, information and resources in the future. Like it or not, the social networking aspect of the Web is going to intersect with many other aspects of our online lives.
"No thanks," my friend said, "I have absolutely no interest in even exploring it. I'm not interested."
That's fine, he doesn't want to touch it. I can accept that. His assertion made me start thinking in general about the generational divide that is now in place with regard to social networking tools. When it comes to these technologies, I am definitely a digital immigrant, and him? Well, he's still in the old country.
My friend is 38, I'm 37, and there is no natural place in our lives for these tools. Sure, I use Facebook, Twitter and IM, but my use is really driven by wanting to understand and experience how these things work. I don't use them because my friends use them and I need them to keep in the social loop of what's happening. Email does that for me, 100%, with my social groups.
No one wants to think they're getting old. But this conversation, to me, it was the present-day equivalent of the dad yelling at his kid to "stop playing that noise that you call rock n roll!"
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