Many will detest this note, because it's antithetical to the concept of 'Facebooking'. Status updates and more recently notes have engulfed the interests of all and sundry. My love with facebook started with some desired and strange applications like predictions, lover of the day, friend of the day, ideal job et al. These applications asked some questions and popped the results. Even if there was no connection, I thought I've achieved something. I'm sure same is the case with others. People feel happy if they see something extraordinarily nice about themselves. For me, it was a confidence booster. It's hard to acknowledge though. It also works as a proxy if not enough friends are online and thus keeps us busy.
To increase the networks of friends, Facebook suggests names randomly. Mind which feels hesitation in requesting friendship, thought of loosening the shackles gradually. FB is preferred over Orkut because FB is a broadcast network unlike Orkut which came across as a point to point connection. The more friends you have, the more people you reach out to. Wall updates can be seen on all friends' news board. Orkut implied a concept of scribbling on the other person's scrapbook.
The habit of lingering on this social network is effectuated by the lack of result oriented work and worthy substitutes. I don't know about other B schools, but this one is surely hooked on to FB. People release unique status updates and there you see a series of likes and comments within no time. This brings us to analyze the dearth of student activities which has propelled deviation on to the web world. As common in every B school, student managed clubs and committees are active in the college. But most prefer to ignore them due to reasons best known to them. Academics as usual, attract little attention. Credit must be given to high frequency of exams which resist us to delve deeper into understanding of the subjects. We tend to behave like machines. Input -> Process -> Output with least retention. This is what I feel, respect to those who have managed to learn regularly.
By garnering applauds on writing a witty remark or by creating a thought provoking video/pic; we feel belongingness to the FB world. This world is 'real like' but not real. After all, nothing has replaced the intricacy of analog human interaction. Try executing a project without meeting a single time and you would know. We are still bound to excel using age old methods of convincing naysayers through table discussions and spoken presentations. Hooking on to FB undermines our focus on the what should be the strength of a modern day manager. Plain confidence does not make up for paucity of facts and analysis.
How to use FB to one's advantage ? I've tried few things. During the summer break, games like Scrabble kept me indulged. I hope I've improved my vocabulary to some extent(God knows!). Creating pages and raising support for causes justifies our passion. 'It's my Earth' page was created as part of a contest organized by one of the IIMs. I'd decided to continue with the initiative, though it demanded only one investment - time. Lots of friends have accepted it. Thanks folks! The idea was to change the way our mind thinks about the environment. Believe me, I can't tolerate wastage of electricity now.
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