Blurg.
Worlds Colliding
For those of you with Facebook stock wondering why it’s worth less than those baseball cards sitting in your closet that you just knew were going to pay your way through college, I can at least provide some solace in the form of a viable explanation.
My mother is on Facebook.
As my mother probably said 855 times the past 40 years of raising children, “This is why we can’t have nice things.”
Don’t get me wrong, I love my sainted mother dearly. Yet, if you’re in the business of keeping your finger on the pulse of trends, market research and finding the next big thing, talking to my mother is pretty good starting point. Because whatever she’s doing is on its way out.
I always claimed I would delete my Facebook account once my mother got on. That’s the funny part: I knew she would eventually wander her way into social media. And anything my mother does involving a computer invariably involves the verb “wander.” She’s gone through a half dozen computers in her very short time post-typewriter. Mostly, she can’t help but open EVERY e-mail ever sent to her and it makes her wonder why someone would send her a blank e-mail or why a Nigerian prince is in need of $4,000. You ask, “Who falls for these online scams that are incredibly transparent?” Answer: My mom.
Thankfully, she has not be knowingly scammed, but instead bombed with about a gajillion viruses, which doesn’t necessarily explain why she gets a new computer ever eight months. She’s like Lennie with a puppy.
Yes, Facebook, as we know it is over. It’s not only been played out for myself, but generally there’s a shift happening with the youngsters of this country as more and more of their parents and grandparents log on. Some might argue that Facebook is somehow not as good. Considering it’s primary function in the beginning was to get laid, this is a very viable point.
I look at it this way: We see Facebook as the product on the conveyor belt moving by people until it gets to the older generation. I actually think the product (social media) is staying still and it’s the people that are moving backward as opposed “forward.” The youngsters made Facebook cool years ago and they have been moving back ever since. Now, 60-somethings like my mom have finally reached the product.
The trouble with Facebook is that it’s a fantastic product … for those over 40 that want to chit-chat with ex-classmates, family and seeing pictures of the grandkids. And maybe getting laid.
With that said, for those of you bemoaning your investment into Mark Zuckerberg’s brainchild (or the Winklevosses), you essentially put your financial faith in something now targeted by Baby Boomers.
Shame on you.
- Mad Dad
