WEB 2.0 AND RECRUITING

I often see postings on FaceBook that say something to the effect, “Facebook is so addictive.” Have you ever thought that or wondered why that is?

I think one reason that FaceBook is addictive is that people are social by nature and we are curious about other people’s lives. We wonder how life has unfolded for old friends we haven’t seen in a long time. We are curious to know if the high school prom queen still looks as good today as she did 30 years ago, or if the star high school quarterback turned out to be a success or a bust off the field.

When we dig into the profiles of people from yesteryear it is fascinating to see what has happened to their lives. We want to know who went to college, where they went to school, and what they majored in. It is interesting to see who got married and had kids at an early age or who might still be single. We are curious what they look like and are amazed that the ugly duckling from elementary school turned out to be quite beautiful with time. We have to chuckle when we see that the most popular guy on campus is now bald and way overweight. Life certainly throws some punches and it is interesting to see how our friends handle them.

I remember a guy named Tony who was a shy, skinny kid who toted a calculator around in high school. Tony now has a PhD in Physics and is a professor at a distinguished university in California. I remember another Tony who was in the band. He grew up down the street in the modest, blue collar neighborhood with me. After connecting with him on Facebook I discovered he had an MBA from Harvard and was the president of a company in Dallas. Wow. I never would have dreamed anyone from my neighbor would accomplish so much.

Facebook is truly interesting to explore.

Marty Brack
E-mail: mdbrack@crimson.ua.edu
Cell: 205-837-4098