What precisely is Facebook for?

[STARP_Social_Officer]

Okay. Something weird's going on.
I joined Facebook. But here's the thing: I'm not quite sure how.
I must have agreed to join and done the consent and terms of use thing, and indeed I remember doing so. But I'm not entirely certain why.
Leaving that aside, here's a question for the great unwashed.
Now that I'm in...what does it do?

Seriously, what does it do?
I can look at photos of people...who I've seen before tons of times.
I can...poke. And this does what?
I can write stuff on their wall. Oh, and I can contact them. Because email is, let's face it, just not good enough.
Ooh, and I can look up what people I didn't know fifteen years ago at school are doing now...when I still don't know them.

I get that it's popular...I'm just asking...
Why?

What does it do???

 

[Mathew_Freeman]

It allows you to play Chess, Scrabble and Reversi/Othello against your friends, brothers and parents (and in-laws) - frankly, that's all I need.

There are a few RPG-esque games on there too.

 

[Starman]

It's a social networking site. You keep in touch with friends and family and so on.

Of course, for some, it's just a way to pretend they have more friends than they really do and to make virtual friends rather than go out and make real friends.

 

[frankthedm]

Of course, for some, it's just a way to pretend they have more friends than they really do and to make virtual friends rather than go out and make real friends.

Yep

 

[Relique du Madde]

It makes you feel elitist because you are not using myspace

 

[Ranger REG]

What does it do???

It allows a high school kid to make billions of dollar before he gets his driver's license so he can buy the car he wants rather than let his dad give him a hand-me-down.

 

[Majoru Oakheart]

As some people above said. What I mainly find useful about it is that it lets you keep up to date on things happening with some of your old friends that you don't see that often.

Some portions of my family(some of my cousins and the like) I don't really talk to in real life for various reasons(mostly, we just don't get along that well). However, when they get married and post it on their facebook I feel like at least I have SOME contact with them.

Plus, I travel a lot and meet a decent number of people at Living Greyhawk conventions. I like being able to add them to my facebook and hear from them now and then. YMMV.

 

[STARP_Social_Officer]

As some people above said. What I mainly find useful about it is that it lets you keep up to date on things happening with some of your old friends that you don't see that often.

Some portions of my family(some of my cousins and the like) I don't really talk to in real life for various reasons(mostly, we just don't get along that well). However, when they get married and post it on their facebook I feel like at least I have SOME contact with them.

Plus, I travel a lot and meet a decent number of people at Living Greyhawk conventions. I like being able to add them to my facebook and hear from them now and then. YMMV.

But...
Couldn't you get the same information through email or picking up the phone? Isn't that a far more substantive form of contact?
And if you don't get along with people...why do you care when they get married?

 

[Tewligan]

It's good if you want to irritate the hell out of your friends by constantly sending them stupid pokes or dumbass e-presents or getting them to install add-ons or saying "Hey, join this cool vampire game! You got bitten! Hyuk hyuk!"

Ahem...at least, that's what it's for judging from the moronic crap I get on there from my otherwise intelligent friends. I haven't logged into mine for months, once I realized how irritating it was.

 

[ssampier]

Can't ... help ... myself...

http://youtube.com/watch?v=3ZzP_69ZTFk