More on Social Networking

Let’s just say, I was inspired by hopping from one Friendster to another last night, thus explaining this second post on social networking (and the previous one was a few hours ago!).

Granting that people’s intentions on keeping a social networking account are clean, I’ve come up with a list of their probable objectives for becoming part of the hype. Note that by “clean intentions” I am bluntly excluding accounts opened by terrorists to spy on their preys or hackers to wait for their next victim to come by, and accounts maintained by perverts to buy and/or sell illegal drugs or human meat.

So here it goes:

1. The most obvious of all reasons: To nurture healthy bonds with friends and even family. Given the fast-paced life we are living, communicating to those who are, in one way or another, dear to us becomes pretty much difficult. It helps to have a venue where we can update each other of the goings-on in our lives and where we can “talk” via personal messaging (PM).

2. The most nostalgic of all reasons: To re-connect with people who were once close to us but lost out of touch. I mean, doesn’t it feel good to find or be found by a classmate in preschool, a cousin you haven’t seen in years, or a neighbor you used to pick on several years ago?

3. The most sentimental of all reasons: To find one’s place in the lives of the people whom s/he knows. If you are in their list, they consider you as their friend. If they gave you a testimonial, they think you are special that they even took the time to compose a piece that partly venerates you. If they sent you a comment, a smile or a PM, they somehow thought about you. If they left a comment on your pictures/album, it means they are interested in knowing what’s been going in your life and were involved enough to say something about it. You get the drift.

4. The most obnoxious of all reasons: To boast one’s achievements by dropping names (and pictures) of the places they’ve been to, of schools and companies they have been affiliated with, or of books and movies their level of intelligence allowed them to comprehend. If not overdone, there is nothing wrong with this objective. Personally, I would be glad to find out that my soft-spoken seatmate way back is going places, living the life, and fulfilling dreams I never thought she had.

5. The most sneaky of all reasons: To stalk on someone whom one is secretly interested in. Now I’m speaking in the more innocent light—that is, versus stalking preys. I mean come on, who isn’t tempted to check on some of the people whose lives we are curious about? A friendly warning, though, some social networking host does not allow anonymous viewing of profiles. Chances are your stalk-ee would know you peeped into his/her life. I have a friend who discovered this a little too late. (Hehe)

6. The most entrepreneurial of all reasons: To promote one’s business or possible venture, and, sometimes, skills. Yes, some open sites for their bag, or shoes, or food businesses which is, honestly not a bad idea. Resourcefulness is key, right? And somehow I am guilty of this reason in that I am promoting my blog in my social network sites in the hopes of upping my page rank. Haha! Nothing discrete there.

7. The most self-affirming of all reasons: To have a head count of our friends, or at least people whom we have something in common with. I mean doesn’t it feel good to confirm how normal we can be sometimes? Besides it is fulfilling to see in vague figures how much relationships we were able to establish through the years. It somehow says something about how we are as persons.

8. The most practical of all reasons: To have something substantial to do in one’s free time. Instead of meandering aimlessly in the World Wide Web, it is better to head somewhere that means something and at the same time gets something done.

9. The most getting-to-know-you-getting-to-know-all-about-you of all reasons: To meet new people by randomly selecting profiles, introducing oneself, and adding the new acquaintance to one’s list. Personally, I don’t do this. I just add people whom I’ve met or have clear connections with. But I do randomly blog hop and leave comments out of courtesy.

10. The most existential of all reasons: To let others know of one’s existence in a general light. Think of it this way, “I logged in, therefore I am.”

The list ends here for now. Maybe I'll come up with a part two if more reasons pop out of my brain which may happen right after I click "publish post."