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Fri, Jan 4, 2008 16:00 EST

Confessions of a Facebook Addict

Topic: Applications

Blog: Difference Engine

Current Rating: 4 Comments: 7

To find our Facebook group, go to Facebook and search for CIO Forum.
I love Facebook. I loved it pretty immediately too. That surprised me. I'm basically an introvert at heart (INTJ, for anyone still into Myers-Briggs), so why would I dig Facebook or Twitter, or anything else that exposes my tastes, preferences, thoughts and actions beyond the most controlled of one-one interactions?

Three reasons:

  • Communicating and interacting with friends and colleagues – people I trust, whose interests I share and whose company I enjoy (and who like to play the same games I do!).

  • Creating an engaging space where I can collect and access all my interests and personal "stuff" for my own benefit

  • Harnessing the power of the network effect by connecting with others who share my interests but with whom I might not otherwise become acquainted.

Living Out Loud
To get the most out of these social networks requires a pretty high level of what industry analyst James Governor calls "declarative living." The more you share about yourself, the more value you get. Roo Reynolds, IBM's metaverse evangelist, has written that by sharing what he is doing (Twitter), listening to (Last.fm), seeing (Flickr photostream) and reading (del.icio.us), as well as who's in his network (Facebook and LinkedIn) and where he is traveling (Dopplr), he gets to "discover interesting things (including wireless hotspots and nearby friends) whenever I land in a new city. I'm never short of new listening or reading material, I never have the frustration of losing a bookmark... I absorb my friends snapshots into my day at my pace, and they form the basis for online conversations."

I'm not quite ready to expose myself to that extent—but then, on Facebook, you don't have to. Only your Facebook friends (people you agree to connect with) can see your full profile. And you can set different levels of visibility for different people. So if, for example, you don't want your professional contacts to know that Pippi Longstockings (the original) is one of your favorite movies (and I'm not saying it's mine!), you can keep that to your closest circle of friends.

Facebook for CIOs
After being on Facebook a while, I started joining various groups. Some of them center around my interests in business technology; some on journalism and media. Groups provide me with another way to access useful information and extend my network. But to date there's been no easy way to find and connect with some of the people I'm most interested in, CIOs. So my colleagues and I have created a new group, the CIO Forum, as a place where we can connect and interact with the members of the CIO community and, more to the point, where they can connect and interact with each other.

If you're an IT executive, we'd love to have you join. If you already have a Facebook account, just search "CIO Forum," look for the big red CIO logo and click on the "request to join" link. We answer requests within a couple of hours. If you haven't joined Facebook yet, don't worry about it - it's really easy to do.

We'll share our favorite articles in the CIO Forum, along with interesting video, photos and links. We'll start discussions and create an environment that reflects your interests - so let us know what you'd like to

You do not have flash or javascript support.
Average (2 votes)
4
 
 
Fri, Jan 4, 2008 17:36 EST
Anonymous user
Posted by: Anonymous
Rating:

Here's a direct link to the group for anyone having trouble finding it:

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=16140755250

 
Sat, Jan 5, 2008 21:34 EST
Posted by: gjorg
Rating: 90

Great article on Facebook. Thought I'd learn something by joining the forum. Got labled as a "vendor" and was rejected. Despite the general invitation, it appears you must meet a certain "criteria" to participate. Who's the real "vendor" here?

Gary Jorgenson
http://garyjorgenson.com/blog

 
Mon, Jan 7, 2008 8:15 EST
Posted by: Abbie Lundberg
Rating:

Gary's post raises a valid point. I guess we assumed it was understood the CIO Forum would be for CIOs and other senior IT practitioners, but obviously we need to be more explicit and transparent about the criteria we're using for membership. We'll publish something later today that spells that out. Thanks to Gary for his input.

 
Wed, Jan 9, 2008 8:13 EST
Anonymous user
Posted by: Anonymous
Rating: 90

I was rejected as well since I don’t have the title CIO or Senior Executive....I thought the
”criteria” was fairly lame…. I am the owner of my own companies and at the same time working as senior consultant with several global assignments in my portfolio.

I found the forum interesting since I am a major fan of www.cio.com, alas I misunderstood the intention of this forum which I thought was for people how possesses experience and knowledge in regards to leading technology positions…..

If the “criteria” is about the title – please rename the forum “CIO’s ONLY” and clearly inform about the same.

Thanks for listen,

Best Wishes

Per Nilsson

 
Wed, Jan 9, 2008 11:18 EST
Anonymous user
Posted by: Anonymous
Rating:

I heard a lot about Facebook but never been there. I heard that it can be very addictive and I do not want to be addicted to anything, big or small (coffee, sudoku,...). Besides, we can visit CIO.COM but Facebook is blocked by our company's Websense (and I kind of agree).

Is it REALLY, REALLY benefitial to join? What am I missing? Please change me. I am not anti-social and I am open to new idea. Thank you.

About this Blog

The Difference Engine, invented in 1821, was an early precursor to the modern computer. Today, IT is making a difference in every aspect of work, play, politics and life. This blog reports on interesting new applications of technology and the people behind them. It comments on the changes taking place and what they mean for decision-making around and management of IT.

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