Wednesday, December 14, 2005

Election Day

Tomorrow, Iraqis go to the polls to decide their parliamentary leaders. Clearly, this nation is much different than it was when I was in college. I remember watching the news during the “Shock and Awe” that started this whole mess. But, here we are, in a different time and place, watching brave individuals vote for their leaders.

It is also a very different day for the Internet. While I could wax poetic about what tomorrow represents for democracy in the Arab world, I want to get to the heart of the matter: MySpace and Facebook.

I’m afraid I’ve already fallen victim to the vortex that is each, having spent hours I can never get back clicking on pictures and profiles of people I used to know. A quick web can be woven from one old friend to a brief acquaintance, to someone I saw once in the cafeteria. Herein lies the effectiveness of each site.

Is it time for me to jump on the bandwagon? Is the world ready for my picture and my updated information to be broadcast to people whose names I will never remember? I’ll let my readers be the judge.

Each site has its benefits. Each site has its drawbacks. But, from now until Christmas Eve, I’ll let anyone and everyone weigh in on what direction they think Sam Davidson needs to go. By no means could either site replace my blog (my current best means of distributing my writing). But either site could open up a world yet undiscovered, a world full of strangers and strange pictures waiting to devour my time. You be the Iraqi: vote boldly.

Comments (2)

Anonymous

8:51 PM

Don't be ashamed. It fulfills the need that the 6th grader still invokes in us all. Amazingly enough, you don't need to make a decision between the two. I say do both, but if you feel you must make this decision, here are some considerations:

MySpace: Personally, I think it's a better designed site to the fact that you can search through more people and read their profiles. Facebook thinks that unless you go to the same school or are in the same geography, you have to be their "friend" in order to read anything about them.

Facebook: At a school like we went to, you will be able to become "friends" with a lot more people that you would actually still want to have contact with.

-Bugg

Anonymous

8:49 AM

I think they are both terrible. It is an impersonal way to develop "friends".