Be and It Is! Cracking the FACEBOOK Code!

Kun Faaya Kun in Urdu means "Be," and “it is”!!

It means – “To have anything done, we simply say to it, "Be," and “it is”!!

Jab kahin pe kuch nahi bhi nahi tha, wohi tha wohi tha

Woh jo mujh mein samaaya, woh jo tujh mein samaaya, Maula wohi wohi maaya

In this recent composition by A. R. Rehman, he talks about God, but here I’m talking about FACEBOOK! Nowadays to have anything done or not done, we simply ‘Facebook it!’

“FACEBOOK”…..the word has become synonymous with ‘Life’.

You tell a friend that you have complete access to Facebook in office, he will make you realise how lucky you are and how his company is depriving him of his basic rights.

There are different types of personalities on Facebook. For some the day doesn’t start and end without Facebook. And with smart phones today, the world is at our fingertips, and so is Facebook.

Some people are addicted to Facebook. They need to check Facebook first thing in the morning, and also the last ‘one-more time’ before going to bed. If you feel the urge to check your FB page every 5 mins, in spite of knowing that there would be nothing new, then YES!! You are an FB addict!

Before this $120 billion worth creation of Mark Zuckerberg came into being, the first thing anyone did after logging on to the office computer, was to open the Inbox to check new mails received. And work would flow gradually. Now, 1^st thing that people do is log on to Facebook to ‘keep in touch’ with other’s lives. “God! Please may I have atleast one notification, 1 friend request, I have posted such a nice update yesterday, please please please!” And if you see no red numbers on the notification bar, you face severe dejection and feel that the day has not started well today. ‘Red’ is no longer a colour for danger!! And then you make a resolution, “Today, my status will earn me as many likes and comments as possible”.

Some people are not so tech-savvy otherwise, especially those in their mid-40 and 50’s who have been introduced to this novel concept of ‘keeping in touch’ by their children or other acquaintances of young age. (Well I don’t mean to say that everyone in their 40’s and 50’s are not well-versed with technology, but here I intend to mention the not-so tech-savvy crowd amongst them). So, these are the people who make it a point to log on to the site daily, and make their presence (tech-savvy ness) felt by liking & commenting on every possible update on earth (read FB). Using newly acquired face-booking jargons like ‘lol’, ‘rofl’, ‘bro’, ‘superlikes’, ‘nice pic’, etc. becomes a way of life. Sharing pictures and videos becomes a binding affair. And not to forget the mannerisms that FB promotes – there are people who say ‘thanks’ on every ‘comment’ and ‘like’ they have grossed.

And thanks to Facebook, now we all remember our friends’ birthdays and also send them good wishes on their ‘wall’, the ‘Great Wall of Fame’!

So is Facebooking a science or an art? Have not arrived at this conclusion yet, but I have figured out that there are 3 main imperative acts you need to do in order to ‘be there’ (make your presence felt) on Facebook.

(1) To update your own status. Be creative here because it is directly proportionate with the amount of likes and comments you will earn. (After all, that’s why you are here) ‘Out-of-the-box’ thinking is what you require.

(2) Like or comment on others status / pictures. If you can’t be creative here, just say ‘nice’, ‘lol’, ‘hahaha’, ‘true’, ‘well said’, ‘agree’ etc… (After all, your friend is going to pray for your good health and prosperity for giving him the recognition, (read notification)).

(3) Share and comment on pictures / videos (shared by 90% of people in your ‘Friend list’ already? So what!)

Some people are very passive on FB. They are there, but always invisible. They are like our parents, who are silent spectators to each and every move that you make. These people never post a comment / status, but are updated with all that is happening in their friend’s lives. May be they fear sharing about their lives to the ‘public’. Mind you, this ‘public’ are the same people who they have added to their own ‘Friend List’!

Leaving aside people on Facebook, and coming to other aspects. Any website, advertisement (television & print media) we see, contain Facebook and Twitter icons at some corner of the page, providing links to these sites. It has become such an integral part of branding and promotion. The ‘Facebook Timeline brand pages’ prove to be an effective tool in conveying identities of organisations. It gives added fun and engagement to the one-on-one branding and customer service experience.

It is no longer only a social networking site. We have various forums and ‘pages’ by professional bodies and forums where people discuss topics related to business and strategies. It is used as a hiring tool to attract talent, promote for seminars and chats, invite for private parties and functions etc. Not only business, but it also has importance in creating political and social awareness, driving campaigns and such.

Facebook has definitely brought the world closer. Long lost friends, childhood memories, relatives and acquaintances, this networking site does not know disparities of time, distance, & boundaries.

So, what was life before Facebook? I think hard while I question myself because, yes! I don’t remember how I kept in touch with so many friends (well, I dint know I had 434 friends and more to come until Facebook happened).

YES! We feel the need to Face-book our life’s small and big events, we need to Face-book where we had dinner last night (with a picture if possible), we need to have an opinion and express it too on Face-book. We just need to Facebook!

It goes without saying that the link to this blog shall be posted on Facebook the first thing after completion (there is an FB icon down there provided by this blog site too), and I shall be waiting for your likes and comments on the same.