Saturday, October 3, 2009

By Randy Salas

Star Tribune 

Facebook recently surpassed an incredible 300 million members. I think half of them have tagged me in one of those annoying Facebook notes.

"25 Random Things" was the hugely popular list going around earlier this year. In that one, you were supposed to create a note detailing 25 random things about yourself that aren't widely known and then "tag" 25 friends, who were to do the same. Yes, it was the modern equivalent of the chain letter.

But that wasn't the end. Many more lists have followed -- favorite movies, things to do before you die, 50 concerts you've attended (50?). Although none has been as big as "25 Random Things," they make up in quantity what they lack in popularity. With each one sent your way comes a message along the lines of "A friend has tagged you in a note." It's the bane of my Facebook existence -- and I have a token existence on the hot social-media site.

Of course, I've always ignored notes that have tagged me in the past. "25 Random Things" was more like 25 Deliberate Non-Responses from me. Who has the time?

But then came the request from a really close friend, Eric. List "15 Books That Will Always Stay With You." It sounded interesting but still like a waste of time. Yet, in mulling over the request, I quickly came up with an ample list, so I thought, "Why not?"

That was the easy part. Then I had to tag 15 Facebook friends to do the same -- friends, relatives, co-workers. In fact, while scrounging for my 15th target -- I mean, friend -- I discovered that my daughter had unfriended me. She swore later that it was unintentional, but maybe she knew what was coming.

Only one responded to my request -- my wife, who might have felt the slightest obligation to respond. The rest ignored it.

And with that inaction came the realization that I had become yet another propagator of a Facebook chain letter.

When I complained to Eric -- in person -- he said something to the effect of, "Dude, I was just interested in finding out what books you liked."

But the worst part is that I had to tag 15 more people as part of the exercise, I said.

"You didn't have to tag that many people if you didn't want to," he replied.

But that's not what the rules said, I lamely replied.

"I still question the validity of that distribution method," said Mykl Roventine, a social-media expert in West St. Paul, Minn., who co-organizes Social Media Breakfast-Minneapolis/St. Paul. "I think Facebook does, as well. That's technically not how you're supposed to tag things -- just to get people's attention."

He went on to explain that tagging is to let Facebook friends know that you've posted a list or photo that actually includes them. It's not supposed to be, "Tag -- you're it!"

One might think that tagged notes are just a teenage fad, but Roventine said Generation X and older are showing the most growth among new Facebook members, according to recent figures.

"The ones I've been getting and continue to get are from older users," he said. "My mother-in-law, for example, is a crime at passing along these types of things, and she's in her 60s. You would think that it's something being perpetuated by the younger members, but it's the older folks who are keeping it around."

There are even Facebook apps and websites devoted to helping users come up with ideas for tagged notes.

The good news? Facebook recently added a feature that allows users to tag friends using a Twitter-style reply, which could help rein in misuse of tagging in the chain-letter notes -- or it could make it worse.

Roventine pointed out that the spread of Facebook's chain-letter notes is cyclical, anyway. Lately, he said, interactive quizzes -- such as "What 'Mad Men' character are you?" -- have taken over Facebook, and they're even easier to pass along.

"I think that's an evolution of the list phenomenon," he said. "I don't think we're going to see the end of this."

Great. Tell a friend.