Yesterday I reached 1,000 friends on Facebook.
I sat down today to interview myself about this milestone:
Me: Now that you reached the 1,000 friend mark, do you feel any better about yourself?
Me: No, not really.
Me: Do you feel empowered to change the world with your Facebook Army?
Me: Um, not exactly.
Me: Is there anyone in particular you want to thank?
Me: Every single person who has sent me a quiz such as "What superhero are you?" or "What is your Gangster name? These quizzes have changed my life.
On a serious note, I am still intrigued by the potential of Facebook for ministry, life and friendships. When I first joined Facebook a year and a half ago, I felt like the old man of Facebook, mainly keeping up with former and current students in our Youth Group at Calvary. Now, it seems like Facebook is as common as an e-mail address for any age group, company or product. It has been interesting to see this develop over the last 18 months or so.
Here are 3 things I consider Facebook valuable for:
#1 - Able to contact people under the age of 30 and receive quicker responses than e-mail contact normally achieves with this age group.
#2 - Able to reconnect with old friends from previous stages of life (high school, college, my time in Prison camp etc.)
#3 - Able to send info to my created facebook groups quickly and cost effectively (I haven't sent a mailer/flyer out to our Young Adult ministry in 2 years, saving thousands of dollars).
What do you like or dislike about Facebook?
Facebook can be a great way to share information. I have a friend who was recently diagnosed with leukemia, and was told by doctors that he had a 0% chance of finding a bone marrow match due to his mixed racial background. Through a large Facebook and internet campaign to get people tested for a match, he now has 2 potential matches! So much for that 0% chance that the doctors gave him! The word spread worldwide within days, and it only took a few weeks to find these 2 matches. Without Facebook or the internet, this likely would not have been possible, and the doctors would have been correct with the 0% prediction. Even if you don't regularly interact with these 1,000 people (which would be difficult!), it is a great network of people to have for many circumstances, even if they are not as extreme as my story. Facebook is great!
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