Over this July 4th weekend - where we vacationed in Cape Cod with my family - Anette and I got engaged! We actually debated whether or not I should post the announcement and picture on this blog. Anette finds it tacky and I have personally struggled with the balance / conflict between tech posts vs. personal posts. But now, a few days after the proposal, I've realized how important the web has been (despite being 'tacky') in communicating the news... and consequently, I don't feel awkward posting this information on a blog... and a tech blog at that.
The other interesting aspect was how Facebook played a role in reaching our friends. Outside of phone calls, text messages and emails - I was really struck by the impact of simply changing my "Facebook" relationship status. Unlike my sisters, I am not an avid Facebook user who logs in multiple times a day (or even daily). I consider myself a reactive Facebooker - someone who logs in when drawn through SMS and email alerts. I suspected that most of my friends were also reactive users.
Not so.
By only changing our relationship status, we each received numerous messages from people who saw the news hit their Facebook Feeds - which means that people were logging in and actively using the Feed to monitor changes in their network. Fascinating considering the amount of activity most people's feeds contain and the rapidity of which we both started getting emails. There is no overlooking how important the Feed has become to Facebook's ecosystem.
I haven't yet posted to Twitter... I can't bring myself to be that tacky (for now).
