How come we haven't said anything about Facebook yet?

I can't remember when exactly I joined Facebook but it must be around three years back.When my sister suggested that I join Facebook I was very skeptical and thought that it was an application only for teenagers or people in their early twenties.

However,after joining & reconnecting with old friends I am totally hooked!It is extremely useful for keeping in touch with people in this day and age when everyone is so busy .I am not suggesting that Facebooking can replace actual meeting with people but it is a great way to connect with friends & relatives who are living in different countries.Best thing is there are many options of staying in touch :you can play Scrabble with an old friend or send him a virtual gift or comment on his photos.Apart from keeping in touch with your friends and other people,in Facebook you can also join a cause,become a fan of a renowned personality or political figure or invite and get invited to events.I have seen people use Facebook for launching a book and promoting their products(including blogs)

Friends I haven't meet for years I have found in Facebook and I now know what they look like currently,how many kids they have & what they have been upto all these years.There is comfort in connecting with old friends who were a part of your childhood.

Facebook also has many applications such as Scrabulous (basically online scrabble) and other word games, books & movies application (where you can view reviews and write reviews).However, some of the applications such as "Friend of the Day","Enemy of the day" or "When will you die?" are silly & unrealistic.However, preteens and teenagers would probably like these applications.

Then there are the privacy issues.Even if you don't give photo access to all your "Friends" ,they will still be able to view them if a "common friend" comments on your photos. A recent rumour suggested that Facebook could use any of your photos for commercial purposes but later I heard that it was not true.

Another downside of Facebook is probably that it can be quite addictive! Many a mornings,after the kids have gone to their preschool,I would be Facebooking instead of doing the household chores and later would curse myself for wasting the precious time.

Inspite of the downsides,Facebook is loved by its users and nowadays older generations are also creating FB accounts to keep in touch with their children who are living abroad or to keep in touch with relatives. I haven't tried the other social networking sites yet but would love to hear from people who have used them.I have opened Tag and Orkut accounts but haven't been checking my account for a long long time.