**Postponed from an earlier date due to fa la la, falderol, et. al.

On the world’s most popular social networking website, I’m just a face.

My life (i.e., the gospel according to Facebook) is one big F: friends, fans, followers, feed. I can face the facts, face the music, lose face, or face off. It’s fun fun fun, and absolutely free!

There’s more: With a click click here and a tap tap there, I can instantly be in your face. "Like" my fan page? Be my friend? Isn’t it simply fab? No need for fuss or formality. Because now, I am famous. My profile page says so.

When I first joined Facebook fifteen months ago, I was all a-flutter with the possibility of coming "face-to-face" with faraway family members, long lost classmates, neighbors who’d moved away, all kinds of awesome people associated with books and publishing. I could scroll through my News Feed and get the latest skinny on all the fads and fibs in my carefully circumscribed FB world. Who wouldn’t covet "the power to share, to make the world more open and connected"?

Continue reading →