Are you on Facebook?

First, I'd like to say that 6:50-9:10pm on a Thursday is a really awful time to learn how to program in Java. There are so many better things that you can do - eat hotdogs at Mike's Papaya and play Thursday nights at the Marshall, or eat pirogies on Brighton Beach and play spades with the old Russian men on the boardwalk, or eat dinner at The Mill, or read a book, or walk down Broadway until you get too tired, or sit in traffic on the BQE, or work on your thesis. So many things.

I was really engaged for the first hour of the programming class. The teacher is excellent. He is smart (a plus), competent (a plus), well spoken (a plus), and seemed genuinely interested when he let me prattle for 20 minutes about Papert and Dewey (a big big plus). He also thinks that Java is super-duper-great (a big minus). All I can say is that I'll make a serious effort to learn how to program in Java this semester. But at around 8:30pm, my attention started to drift. Maybe if I had another espresso, I could've made it. But they don't allow food or drinks in that room. Alas.

So, first, I checked out LinkedIn. This site was recommended by my manager, Peter Cooper, and a random bloke on the train. The site is basically Facebook for adults. It was boring, and I barely got through completing my profile, before I quit. So much for trying to be an adult.

Next, I went to Facebook. The interns have been particularly vociferous about it lately, and I already had an account on it anyway. So, first I joined the CCIT group. I added my picture, I deleted my picture, and I added another picture. I added Jeff. I found that guy who used to pull on my pony tail in the 6th grade. I added the girl sitting next to me in class. I joined the Bronx Science group. I got bored.

This is not for lack of trying, but I just can't seem to get into these types of social networks. I gave it a fair go with orkut. I had high hopes for that one. But I just don't see the point. It seems like you just add people who you want to be associated with, but don't actually like enough to interact with in person. For example, I don't see the point of adding Sonu. What will that mean? A public announcement of our friendship? Who needs that? I don't need to know that he just made friends with the guy sitting in the next office, or joined the I-Love-Star-Wars group. If he has something to tell me, he can just come to my house or call me on the phone.

Here is what will not happen: the great TA in the math help room who is so smart and always has crowds of people waiting for him will tell everyone to bugger off and say "Irina! I saw you on Facebook, because my roommate's brother's girlfriend's cousin went to Bronx Science! Come, let me answer all your questions!" Here is what will happen: the Java teacher, who has undoubtedly joined Facebook because his interns have been particularly vociferous about it too, will start looking up his students one day, and will see that I have been updating my profile while in his class.

And I know that a lot of smart people are trying to write scholarly papers about this. All sorts of cognitive research and educational research is coming out about these types of technologies. But frankly, I don't think Facebook will revolutionize the Internet, or change education.

Not like Web 2.0.