I had a birthday recently. It went well; a pretty relaxing long weekend with lots of well-wishers. The birthday wishes got me thinking though – a birthday provides a good opportunity to review one’s communication mix. Many of my good friends are living far away, so I’ve been forced into using less and less in-person communication and more online communication. In the post-Facebook era, my network of weak ties has also grown, meaning that the amount of “random” communication with not-as-close friends has increased as a percentage of my total correspondence. To the extent that birthday wishes can be used as a proxy for overall (personal) communication, the breakdown looks something like this:
On a related note; what’s the protocol on Facebook birthday wishes anyways? I mean, when someone calls or e-mails you a “Happy Birthday” you tend to call them back or drop them a line. What about all the “Happy Birthdays” that show up on your Facebook wall? Are you obliged to respond?
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People tend to do a mass birthday-wallpost-status-update-thank-you to keep from having to respond in kind to every wall post.
Having a birthday in the winter, I often decide part way through the summer to change my birthday to something a little more immediate. It provides a great way of seeing how many people actually know your birthday, and how many people are just weak ties going through the motions whenever they see a birthday crop up on their home page.
It’s a fun experiment.
Comment by Jeff DeChambeau - July 3, 2008 12:05 pm