Facebook's 25 Random Things rages like a wildfire

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It was only a matter of time.

I had seen the notes on Facebook flying furiously back and forth. But I had never gotten "tagged" until recently. And now I'm sitting here contemplating disclosing 25 random things about myself that will be revealing, entertaining, not too embarrassing and damaging but still honest and illuminating enough to keep people reading.

If you're not familiar, there is a chain letter of sorts that is racing around Facebook called 25 Random Things About Me, asking people not to fork over money but rather information. Once you're tagged by a friend, who has spelled out their list of 25 random things, you do the same in a note.

It's been a true phenomenon that has spread across Facebook like a virus. Though exact figures are not available, Facebook has been telling news outlets that people have been generating more than twice the number of notes in the last couple weeks and are tagging friends in notes five times more than normal. Some are estimating 5 million of these notes have been created in the last couple weeks. And that, in turn, has caught the attention of the New York Times, Time Magazine and USA Today among others.

Time's take is that this creates way too much over-sharing while the New York Times quotes people who like the idea of exchanging little-known facts about themselves with friends.

I'm not a hater of these lists, which I've actually really enjoyed. And I totally understand why they're so popular.

They are basically the essence of Facebook in a note. We are constantly exchanging tidbits with people on the site, giving them glimpses into our lives with status updates, uploaded pictures and videos, or posted stories and items. This takes that desire to broadcast and puts it into a neat list that fosters a sense of community with people, both every day friends and acquaintances separated by distances. It's an excuse to do more of what most people are doing on Facebook anyway.

That people begrudge this fad is something I also understand. Not everyone wants to be coerced into giving up dirt on themselves. And for some, this can turn into a burdensome writing exercise, but with the danger of looking foolish, uninteresting or humorless in front of hundreds of friends.

Like any fad, this will die out soon enough, but not before it's succeeded by something else. I've decided that while it's still going, I'll get in on the act too. Here's one tidbit to start with:

#17 I went to a New Kids on the Block concert as a kid but only after winning the tickets on the radio. I didn't even know what I was calling in for. I swear.

Posted By: Ryan Kim (Email) | February 10 2009 at 09:57 AM

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