Friday, 6 February 2015

A Facebook Story

A book full of stories. From status updates to news feeds, Facebook unfolds stories about the real-world, in real time. The authors all have faces and names, but who had the idea first to make up a story, matters less. It is just like how my grandma use to tell: the story is more interesting than the author. This makes me believe that Facebook is a new form of folklore, a digital lore: “Folklore (or lore) consists of legends, music, oral history, proverbs, jokes, popular beliefs, fairy tales, stories, tall tales, and customs included in the traditions of a culture, subculture, or group.” (Mayor, 2000).


Facebook is a fantastic journey. Challenging and immersive. I am enjoying being part of it, participating in, and sometimes, creating it. I am interacting with some of its authors, who happens to be in my friends’ list. Sometimes we are using one picture or one word to tell an entire story. I enjoy looking up for the story of the day. I am looking for it in the news, in my friends feeds, and in their comments. When I find it, I like to put a little contribution to it: a comment, a thumb up, a share. Facebook is changing its face every day. 


I don’t remember the foreword or the first chapter, and I cannot foresee how the book will end. I am just enjoying the online storyline.

Reference:
Mayor, A. (2000). Bibliography of Classical Folklore Scholarship: Myths, Legends, and Popular Beliefs of Ancient Greece and Rome. Folklore111(1), 123-138. doi:10.1080/001558700360924

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