You're My Friendster!

By Hilda Monica C. Naval

See how you’re connected!

Interesting enough, but not perfectly convincing.

As I read an invitation sent to me via email, I was having a moral dilemma whether or not to accept it for the very reason that my choice would breed many implications--even those things I don't mean to say. Despite the fact that I've read the letter for several times, I still don't understand what the site is all about and so I find myself reluctant to sign-up. I placed the matter aside and went on reading my other letters. I didn’t close the door then and there, though. Instead of deleting the message, I chose to keep it in my inbox for I am aware that I might need it for future reference.

Several days have passed and my inbox had been bombarded with messages from different friends all implying one and the same thing—join Friendster! Later on, I found myself signing-up, accepting the license term agreement, and creating my own account. There, my journey with Friendster began, and little by little it became part of my system.

Friendster: Bits and Pieces
           
Friendster is a site founded in 2002 by Jonathan Adams for a very simple reason of finding love online, not with a stranger but to someone who’s connected to him trough a common set of friends. That, for him, makes a big difference. Fortunately, luck was on Adam's side and he got more than what he originally wanted. For its first five months, the site has instantly gained overwhelming popularity, and has been considered as the top online social network until about April 2004.
           
But the years have gone by, and many changes took place. At the moment, Friendster is becoming relatively less and less popular in some countries like the US. On the other hand, that decline of fame didn’t happen in Asia. Up to this day roughly more than half of the Friendster users are from countries outside US, predominantly South East Asian countries like the Philippines. In addition to that, in our country (and in some of our neighboring countries as well) there is a larger membership of teenagers compared young adults--exactly the opposite of what is happening in European and North American countries. Even by just observing the Filipino youth, you’d know that Friendster is among the sites they usually visit. Friendster has become a term used in everyday conversations. As an example, when you meet new friends or classmates, you'd hear them ask your age, mobile number, school and your account name in Friendster. This is quite an indication that in the Philippines, to say the least, creating an account in Friendster is expected among adolescents much like having a luxury-turned-necessity commodity like the cell phone.

The Reason Behind Friendster’s Popularity
           
Finding out the reason(s) why this social networking became a phenomenon around the globe has been a worthwhile task for many critics to the point that even the intellectuals from prestigious universities hose it as their topic in their undergraduate thesis. Indeed much could be said about its popularity. Firstly, Friendster is well-liked because it allows you to connect with friends of all sorts--from the closest ones to those whom you consider mere acquaintances. Besides that, we get to communicate with them by sending simple smiles or longer forms of messages, or by posting comments on the blog or answered surveys in the message bulletin. Thus we are updated with the events in each and everyone else's life despite the distance and time constraints.  This site has also enabled us to see how we are connected to people and at the same time get to know some information on those personalities whom we merely know by their first and last names. Lastly, through our self-made profiles, the network gives us a chance to tell everyone what music we listen to, our hobbies and interests, the schools we’ve attended, how we describe ourselves, and what our friends say about us.

Of all the explanations mentioned above, the user's profile has got one of the most interesting reviews in the papers I've read. The said reviews cover quite a large scope--from the issues of the fakesters, or the fraudsters in Friendster who make profiles of fictitious characters, to those people with real profiles and their attitude towards the public display of it. Although there are differences between the two, there are interesting and meaningful overlaps. Basically, both cases tell us that in Friendster, nothing is what it seems. For in this site (and much like in many other sites in the internet) we have a control on how we want people to see us, how we want to be known, and how we what to be remembered. We then emphasize on the good things as we become selective on what to write in our blogs or what pictures to post in our photo albums. Sometimes it's about privacy, but more often than not, there is a deeper reason why we are being careful. Whatever that is, no one needs to know, and no authority could have the final word about it other than you. Nevertheless, that is what we call reality.
           
Good thing at least one principle of reality applies to Friendster. Let's just end it this way.