Most likely to be a social media nerd

Although I didn't think of myself as exactly being at the top of the social ladder in high school, apparently many of my former classmates now consider me the king of social media.

Last night Niskayuna High School's Class of 1990 had their 20-year reunion.  It was so great to see so many old faces -- many of which I haven't seen since graduation. At least, not in person.

That brings us to modern marvel that is Facebook.  I seriously lost track of how many people said to me, "Hey, Chris, I see you on Facebook all the time!" or "Yeah, you're all over Facebook."

Another person looked at the drink in my hand and asked why I wasn't drinking a cup of coffee. Apparently I've written many status updates about enjoying a cup of coffee.

Then there was the guy who told me I'm on Facebook so much that I have the most recognizable face in the room.  I know that was meant as a compliment, but I admit I was a little embarrassed. Am I putting too much out there?

For the record, I think I only did a few updates on Facebook, Twitter and Foursquare during the course of the party.

I also only sang karaoke twice. I haven't done that since college.  But the ham in me couldn't resist the urge to grab the microphone and make an ass of myself.

I was one of the first singers of the night and did a very lame rendition of "Great Balls of Fire."  Much later in the evening I had the urge to take another crack at it.  It took a while to decide what song to do, but I finally settled on Van Halen's "Jump." However,when the DJ told me I'd be the last song of the night, I immediately changed my mind. "New York, New York" would be the perfect song to end the night!

I managed to get a good number of the attendees on the dance floor to sing along and start a kick line.

And of course I couldn't wait to update my Facebook status about it.

Social media ain't kid stuff

It seems like I still run into people who think Facebook and Twitter are for youngsters. But get a load of these figures Lost Remote pulled from a Forrester Research report...

• A third of adults post at least once a week to social sites such as Facebook and Twitter.
• A quarter of adults publish a blog and upload video/audio they created.
• Nearly 60% maintain a profile on a social networking site.
• 70% Read blogs, tweets and watch UGC video.

My year in Facebook

I have decided that from now on, I'm just going to read Sarah's blog and rip-off whatever she does.

This time, she's pointed out an app on Facebook that gathers a sample of your status updates from the past year. Looking back over the year's worth of Facebook ramblings I see that I spent a lot of time complimenting my wife's cooking and expressing a desire for more coffee or beer.

Here's a sample of what I had to say in 2009...

What's in a username?

When Facebook first offered custom URLs a couple of months ago, I was one of the millions sitting by their computer, ready to pounce on their username of choice at 12:01 a.m. on June 13.

I have long been annoyed that ChrisRooney.com is taken. That's why I jumped at the chance to register @ChrisRooney on Twitter and was anxious to stake a similar claim on Facebook before any other Chris Rooney out there could beat me to it.

As many of you may recall, Facebook offered several suggested usernames and then gave the option to make up your own. "ChrisRooney" was not one of the names initially offered. I checked and it was available, but for reasons unknown to me I opted to instead use the default suggestion "chris.rooney."

I instantly regretted the move because, of course, Facebook was not allowing you to change your name once you set it. You were stuck with it (which is also why I'll never get a tattoo).

But I soon discovered something odd. Going to facebook.com/ChrisRooney automatically sent you to facebook.com/chris.rooney. So somehow I got both names?

Today I read on Mashable that Facebook quietly relented and now will allow people to change their usernames in their account settings. So I figured I'd officially make it "ChrisRooney" -- except Facebook told me that name was not available. Bummer, I thought, someone else must have claimed it. I plugged in the URL and surprise! It still forwards to me. Huh?!?

If Facebook wants to let me have both names, who am I to complain. But it doesn't make a whole lot of sense. And I'd still feel better if I could officially change it.

UPDATE: Sarah explains in comments that Facebook (and Gmail for that matter) doesn't differentiate between usernames with a dot and those without one. So if you own John.Doe then you also automatically own JohnDoe. Thanks for clearing that up, Sarah!

Reunion Season

Two weekends, two reunions – first the high school gang and then some friends from college.

Some of my friends from Niskayuna High School gathered at Saratoga Spa State Park the weekend before last for an afternoon cookout.

We had a similar get together last year and decided to do it again. Especially since this time our friend Chris Johnson and his family would be in town visiting from Norway where they live.

Next year will be our big 20-year reunion!

This past weekend we went on a camping trip to Green Lakes State Park near Syracuse with some friends from SUNY Plattsburgh.

We were there with our dear friends the Reeds, who we see a few times a year. But we also got together with Jon and Christine Kio, who we haven’t seen in 16 years, and Tim Casey, who we had lost touch with after he transferred to Buffalo in 1991.

Facebook helped bring us all back together, especially in the case of Tim. For the past 16 years (the last time we saw him was at the Kios’ wedding), every time we got together with the Reeds, inevitably at some point the subject of “whatever happened to Tim?” would come up. Kris finally found him on Facebook earlier this year and used the site to help plan the camping trip.

I should mention we used Facebook to help plan the picnic for my high school gang too. The social networking site is my primary means of communicating with Chris Johnson and keeping up on his family, since phone calls to Norway can be a tad expensive. As soon as he announced his vacation plans in the states, we put the wheels into motion to plan the picnic with an event page.

Both gatherings were a success and lots of fun. Although, after all this activity, I have to admit we’re looking forward to this weekend – when we have nothing planned at all!

You can find some photos of our Saratoga picnic here and our Green Lakes trip here.

Facebook boom

Is it just me or has there been a Facebook explosion recently? I know the social networking site has always been popular, but lately it seems like people are joining in droves.

I've had a Facebook account for quite a while now, although I didn't really start actively using it until about a year ago.

I've had a steadily increasing list of Facebook friends. But lately it seems like I'm finding someone new -- or someone new is finding me -- almost everyday. It's been a great tool for reconnecting with old friends from high school and college and some former co-workers.

Even Kris took the plunge yesterday, creating her own Facebook page to see what all the fuss is about.

It's quite cross section of people I've connected to. I'd say the ages of the people on my friends list range from 16 to mid-60s.

I knew Facebook was successful, but the level of its success and some of the unlikely people I've found on there surprises even me.