The Accidental Facebooker

          A couple of years back I was cruising along the highways of busy domesticity, a soul content in my cosy cocoon of gardening, cooking, reading, and socializing in the real world. The online community and it's denizens were an alien species I knew little about and cared even less for, so much so that I did not have an email address of my own!  However a sudden urge to contact an acquaintance I had lost touch with necessitated a Google search, only to be informed that so and so was on Facebook.Thus began my initiation into the world of social networking as I signed up for Facebook within a matter of days. Since then there has been no looking back.
            However the early months were a lonely existence when I would log in and regard myself in solitary splendour on my page. Desperate searches ensued but none of my real life friends seemed to be on Facebook. I was growing resigned to a friendless existence when  one fine day a miracle occured and I received an actual friend request! Oh, what bliss! It did not matter that I did not know the person concerned from Adam. Of course I accepted but the bubble burst soon after. My first online friend turned out to be somewhat shady and I learned the first of my lessons, do not trust strangers just because they seem friendly.
                Soon however I struck paydirt as I found one of my school friends who had retained her maiden name. One followed another and before long I was connected to the old school network, most of whom seemed to have moved to the States.  Many exclamations followed, how this one had changed and the other had doubled in size. Facebook was happy meeting ground and many a pleasant moment was spent reminiscing and oohing and aahing over spouses and children and wonderful careers achieved. Old school photographs were uploaded and nostalgia reigned supreme. One fine day, a long forgotten friend from college sent me a message and as we connected, voila, more friends seemed to crawl out of the woodworks. Gradually, I reconnected with cousins settled abroad and made the acquaintance of the newer generation I had never met before and  bonded over books, music and similar likes and dislikes.
                 As I waxed eloquent about the wonders of Facebook, some friends were enticed to sign up and the ranks of my online friends swelled. Virtual flowers, confectionaries and even medication was exchanged on Facebook. Thinking of creative and original status updates and receiving the most number of comments and Likes became one of the joys of my life. I made friends with fellow Scrabble players from all over the world on Facebook and have been fortunate enough to convert some virtual friendships into real life ones. Birthdays, anniversaries and festive occasions became even more so as they were shared by friends real and virtual,old and new. People I had not been close to in real life became soul mates on Facebook and I felt bereft if I can not communicate with my online buddies. I was totally hooked on to Facebook and experienced my first withdrawal symptoms when I lost my net connection for a while. I would rush to switch on my computer the moment I woke up, even before the first cuppa and the more the notifications, pokes and messages, the better my day began. My plants were looking forlorn, books were piling up unread and it seemed takeaway menus were proliferating dramatically. Friends not connected online complained that I did not answer phone calls or reply to messages. But I was so busy milking cows and building barns on Farmville and becoming a hardy pioneer in Frontierville that real life had taken a backseat. It has taken quite a few nudges from an increasingly neglected husband and offspring, parents and friends to regulate the time I spend Facebooking. Indeed, on quite a few occasions I have de-activated my account, only to get back to it the very next day! And while I may no longer hit the PC the first thing in the morning, it is my Blackberry I reach out for with just one eye just opened.
                    It is incredible how a social networking site that was meant for students in Harvard has  become a household phenomenon. Facebook now has an astounding five hundred million members, including me! As one of my friend's status update said, I was ordinary, till Facebook happened. Now I am awesome, beautiful, wow, outstanding and on one occasion even a flower in a forest! But seriously, Facebook gives me new reasons to smile everyday and even shed a few tears like I did today, talking to a childhood friend after twenty years. It has been instrumental in making me pick up my pen  and take some baby steps towards my long forgotten ambition of writing. For me, Facebook is a love story that shows no sign of waning. But in a broader perspective, Facebook is an effective social media that has the power to revolutionize lives, empower businesses, mobilize opinion, organize blood donation drives and fundraising, raise environmental issues, and make political statements. Is it a wonder then that The Accidental Millionaire, Mark Zuckerberg, the creator of Facebook  has been named the Person of the Year by Time magazine!