Awesome by Association

Dom | January 5th, 2011

A person is only as witty and good looking as the friends they keep. While thankfully, the second part of that statement is not true (you ugly pals of mine know who I’m talking about…Dan), there may be some truth to the first point.

When it comes to social networking Facebook is king. His Majesty, Facebook, allows one to observe the lives of others through text, imagery and videos. Often times the updated information is highly important such as the time Sherry spotted a cow on her make believe farm. That never happens! Holy…cow! Other times the update is extremely lame and boring: “Going to my baby brother’s funeral today.” Boring! Regardless of the situation, event, article or whatever a buddy is commenting on, Facebook does the right thing and gives other friends the ability to endlessly make fun of them for it; thus, making the poster awesome by association.

Awesome by Association Example:

Here I bring up a fun conversation about Jean-Claude Van Damme (I, of course, spelled his name incorrectly) and by the second comment seeds for some playful mocking are planted. By the end we get in some jabs and the world keeps on turning.

The above was an example of what a nice post looks like. It does a few things.

It gets the attention of some friends.
The post presents a situation where playfulness can flourish.
Some well deserved mocking is initiated and recognized.
The wall conversation reinforces the idea that my friends are fun and clever.
I am awesome by association.

That’s what Facebook is all about. Proving that based on your conversations and the friends kept that you are cool by association.

Now that we have seen a successful little Facebook interaction, let’s take a look at a poor poster’s series.

Not Awesome by Association Example:

Am I right?! I mean…Ok, let me explain.

Where’s the ribbing? A post like this should always include a “child reader” or not knowing how to read comment. I would have enjoyed a “Yeah, that books ok, but ‘One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish’ has far more depth and superior characterization.”

This poster clearly fails on points 3 through 5 and is therefore a huge loser…and also a huge nerd for reading a book.

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