I’m so fascinated by the Facebook deactivation routine. I have yet to pull the trigger (actually, I can’t because of work). Ever since Marshall Kirkpatrick (@marshallk) wrote about this deactivation routine on Read Write Web, the question of “will those people really miss me?” floated around in my head.

I decided to finally put some effort into answering that question.

I signed in and went to “Account Settings,” then “Deactivate Account.”

Facebook immediately started its guilt trip.

I took down the names of the six most recurring people that Facebook believed would miss me.

I sent out a simple message to these six, asking, “Hey, apparently Facebook says that you’ll miss me if I deactivate. Is that true?”

Dag. How did it turn out?

Of the six recipients, three responded. Here are the results:

Person A: “Dude…I miss you already, shit. Seriously man…I guess the point is; don’t deactivate that shit cuz it’s the only way we can talk at this point at least. But, in the spirit of being proactive, hit me up: --**.”

Oh, heck yes.

Person B: “I would like Facebook less, but I wouldn’t miss you more.”

Well said.

Person C: “Of course:)!!!!”

Cute.

Discoveries:

  • The four responders are people I do not speak with on Facebook. We hang out in person or speak over the phone, but how would Facebook know this?
  • My ex-girlfriend, who I often speak with using only Facebook, never shows up on this list. Interesting.
  • Conducting a half-ass experiment yields a result like Person B’s.
  • So what now?

Constantly with finger on trigger, I look at Facebook lately with Thanatos peering over my shoulder. Perhaps it’s time to move forward.

Maybe social media is like learning how to ride a bike.

I’ve been in a few conversations lately that classified Facebook as “social media training wheels.”

Though its application to business deepens through Open Graph and app development, I believe it to be the “gateway drug” of social media tools when it comes to the common end-user.

If having a web presence on Facebook is like riding around in a three wheeler, what would be your first bike with training wheels?

In my opinion, the blog is the snazzy two-wheeler with training wheels. Like any first blog, you have a good time learning how to use it and experience the thrill of going to new places, but you’ll also fall over and scrape your knees a few times.

Of course, no one will notice, as long as you don’t make a big fuss about it. You just get up and proceed.

Post, post, post, delete, edit, post. It’s business as usual.

When you finally decide to take the training wheels off to ride into social media in full confidence, these could be the share-at-breakneck-pace tools like Twitter, Digg, StumbleUpon, and Tumblr.

These tools are easy-to-use, but their depth resides in the fact that authors can showcase raw thought without the need for a curator.

That’s nuts – showcasing open, unbridled thought for the masses. Once you start doing that, it’s hard to stop.

All of a sudden, you can’t seem to forget how to ride your bike.

Tell me where you all are at on your social media ride. How many sets of wheels are you rocking? Is it even a bike?