Facebook Nation

Those born in the 1970s and earlier are discovering that the social-networking site can be a compelling way to communicate by Rachael King Fortunately, Debbie Weil had a 24-year-old daughter to clue her in when she joined Facebook. So daughter guided mom on the basics of the online social network, like "friending" another member or writing on someone's "wall." But daughter refused to tell mom what it meant to "poke" someone. So, Mom simply never pressed that button, unsure what it would do and a bit embarrassed to ask anyone else. "I've written a corporate blogging book and I still don't know...

Ryan Olson, a United States-based analyst for VeriSign's iDefense operations against the proliferation of malicious code, said that while thousands of applications being developed by third parties for Facebook users are enriching the social network's functionality, the Facebook Platform provides a perfect channel for distributing malicious software. "The potential is there, and the framework is there," Olson said. "Rather than putting it in our terms of service that you promise not to breach our security and putting the onus on us, we are just going to open it up slowly over time," Facebook...

n the last few months Facebook has become one of the most talked-about social networking sites on the internet. The network, originally intended for US college students but now thoroughly infiltrated by the military (officer class only) and media (%u2018for research%u2019), is also one of the fastest-growing networks of its kind. Once a critical mass of people you know have signed up, their evangelical zeal becomes irresistible and it%u2019s only a matter of time before you%u2019ll cave in too. Here is Times Online%u2019s quick guide to hit the virtual ground running: 1: Read The Billy Goat Curse%u2019s...

There comes a time in every young person's life%u2014soon after teething, usually%u2014when she must make a momentous decision: MySpace or Facebook? One's preference is a matter of taste. MySpace, if you ask me, is a spam-infested state of nature. The average user page comes with a crapload of embedded music and video players, some seizure-inducing wallpaper, and a bunch of friend requests from "models" who want to "get to know you." (It also happens to be nearly three times the size of Facebook.) Facebook, on the other hand, is much less customizable but also a lot more reassuring. The interface...

I HAVE reached a curious point in life. Although I feel like the same precocious know-it-all cynic I always was, I suddenly am surrounded by younger precocious know-it-all cynics whose main purpose appears to be to remind me that I%u2019ve lost my edge. Many of these people are teenagers. Some of them I gave birth to. One was in a breech position. And the other day, as I drove home with one of my tormenters in the passenger seat, she started laughing at the way I pronounced %u201CHenri Cartier-Bresson.%u201D %u201CHa ha ha, is that how you think his name sounds?%u201D my daughter said. %u201COh,...