Sometimes more is just more

In the beginning, I joined facebook, and it was good. I was for the first time able to stalk crushes of ages past and reconnect with people I would have preferred to forget from high school. I put up my favorite books and music and a few cute pictures. I put up some of my favorite quotes from classic movies like "Old School" and "Joe Dirt."

Then other people started putting up pictures of me, some unflattering, and I was forced to learn "untagging" so that those high school friends would not laugh at how chubby stress eating has made me.

Then I started getting all these invitations from strangers who had the same last name as me, many in high school, because they thought we should be friends.

Then I found out that employers were asking their new hires to log on to facebook and check out prospective employees...forcing me to effectively neuter my profile of all personality.

Then "applications" were introduced and a social networking site that I adored for its elegant simplicity became craptastic...to the point that I began to wonder if all the reasons I joined facebook instead of my space still held. I currently have:

• Invitations to add 6 plants to my profile via a "lil green patch" application
• Ten outstanding quizzes, including a "campus sex survey" from some guy who has not spoken to me in eight years and who has not been in college for at least four years
  
• Messages from a handful of people who think I am fashionable or hot (thanks!)
• Invitations to play Oregon trail (I'll probably do that)
• A handful of party invites to events in other states
  

I go to some facebook profile pages and I can hardly find information on the person anymore because of all the random applications, some of which are poorly designed to integrate into the strict formating of facebook.

The facebook recently added an instant messaging feature, so now I have random windows popping up when I log on. I wish facebook would stop adding more and more crap. I'm already starting to get the feeling that a more fabulous social networking site is on the way, and the facebook is on the way out.