August 08, 2007
I like to call the process of user configuration of their Facebook existence ‘FacePainting’.
Some finish the job very well creating an organized profile and good choice of layout. This could either be a testament to their organizational skills or to the exorbitant amount of time they spend crafting and adjusting their Facebook pages to impress their friends, or both. Others, create a Facebook presence that looks like my junk drawer. Mine is somewhere in between
FacePainting is one habit within the Facebook addiction. FacePainting is a fun and self-gratifying activity that allows just about anyone to hone their individual existence on the web. Let’s face it, for some people, Facebook is their sole proof of existence on the Internet (except of course for those tasty bits of information kept by government and corporations). Not everyone has the patience and talent to establish a blog, make a picture web site or craft a site from scratch. Facebook, therefore, can be manna for the masses.
I know from firsthand experience that an hour or more can be spent per day tidying my Facebook profile, adjusting placement of groups and applications, answering notifications and viewing the latest photo’s of pets of people I barely know or their Aunt Gertrude’s 85th birthday. Also, once you have numerous friends, numerous networks of interest, many subscribed groups and applications, it takes more than a few minutes to get up to date with what is happening in your immediate friends network. The scope of your Facebook existence tends to expand rapidly, compounded by your number of friends, their number of friends, and their associated photo galleries, groups and applications.
Is FacePainting a productive use of time in the grand scheme of achievement of one’s life and/or career goals? I resist the temptation to generalize here …individuals must make that assessment for themselves! I try to temper my addiction with strong coffee and the benefits of wireless Internet connectivity allowing me to work on my back deck with a cold beer - aahh the health benefits of relaxation 
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