PingBack from http://haroldskids.wordpress.com/2009/02/24/theres-something-about-memes-part-1-of/

PingBack from http://themedianerd.wordpress.com/2009/02/11/sorry-its-been-awhile/

1. It’s like any good drug…don’t knock it ‘till you try it.

2. It’s very much in the spirit of Facebook, which is primarily about shining a spotlight on your own image of yourself in front of a mostly unresponsive audience.

3. Rest assured, you’re being judged, no matter whether you write notes, post photos, or list 1000’s of awesome bands.

4. Are you jealous because you weren’t tagged?

5. Oh, c’mon now, how many of them have you NOT read?

6. If you were tagged and feel genuine pressure to respond that you don’t want to feel, maybe Facebook isn’t your world to discover what raw human emotion can be like. I suggest moving to a repressive state with a high degree of civic unrest and maybe even a few political prisoners.

7. I like reading a person’s assessment of what s/he notes as interesting about him/herself – the life events they revisit, the habits they expose, the language they use, etc.

8. Of course, what is unintentionally communicated through these “25 things” is perhaps even more interesting than what is intentionally communicated…are your values, self-image, or way you are in the world something to be challenged, cherished, or mocked? Are you boring?

9. It works the same way in face-to-face conversation. You don’t have to tell me “I am this…” explicitly in order for me to think that you are. It could have just been the way you treated that waitress.

10. It’s an opportunity to both “liberate” and “pigeonhole” yourself, all the same time. Yay! What could be more fun?

11. Give your friends some free entertainment. They can feel smug in thinking, “Item #7….see, I KNEW that about you!” –or surprised and intrigued: “Item #7….gee, I had no idea.” –or you can simply shake things up a bit: “Item #7…you really did that, after all we’ve been through together? WTF?”

12. Do you disapprove of a particular Facebook practice and every person who chooses to participate? Hmmm….sounds like it’s time to start culling that network.

13. In a network of photos and text “sound bytes”, writing full-on prose is hard, I know…talk to me after I’ve finished writing my thesis.

14. Yes, I am procrastinating on my thesis.

15. Hey, I reaped some very concrete benefits out of having written my 25 things…I was asked on a date, and now an acquaintance and I have decided to undertake a small business venture. Just kidding. No, really. Kidding.

16. Oh, is that NOT what social networking is all about? Viral consumerism, you say?

17. Am I counter-criticizing this practice because I participated after having criticized it myself and now I feel like you’re criticizing ME? Could be; you’ll never know. Maybe I do have an intractable set of standards that exist irrespective of any social influence.

18. This is your chance to make up for being that annoying broken link in the many chain letter phenomena of your childhood. Anyone remember the pretty panty exchange? I never did figure out how that works; it was probably the people who mastered buying 12 CDs for 1 cent.

19. I’ll admit; in the end, I don’t know which would earn you greater social capital…to share things about yourself via 25 Things, or to withhold them. Either way, I think my “offline” friends will remain my “offline” friends; same with my “online” friends.

20. Make it easier on yourself…make it “1 thing about myself”. Or is that a status update? Hey, the chance to be a new, one-dimensional person everyday!

21. Still, it is difficult to churn out 25 things…do I have four more to go? I’m guessing this practice was started by a 25-year-old in a quarter-life crisis.

22. The Oracle of Delphi said, “Know Thyself.” It also said, “Nothing to excess”. The Oracle might have chosen a different number, too.

23. I’m losing steam.

24. The Facebook gods are rubbing their hands together and cackling—they have tricked us once again by creating something we love to hate, and hate to love. They know that’s how we’ll keep coming back for more.

25. Well, it turns out playing devil’s advocate is easier than I thought. I think I’ll next try my hand at partisan politics.

You are so lucky to have a public forum in which to judge your friends!  I've been judging my friends rather quietly and all in my head these past few weeks, and it's been fun.  Wouldn't you agree that there is a perverse pleasure to be found in reading these lists?  And though I mostly feel disdain for those brash enough to post 25 random (read: boring) facts, there is a wisp of jealousy for a psyche willing to be so free, so common ... so unhindered and yet Plebian, no?