Have you ever taken a close look at who comments on various status updates of yours? It’s almost an archival snapshot of you development over time. If you haven’t taken a look, then either you say nothing of any significance to your friends and need to re-evaluate your social network or you’re a cybernerd like me and it is within the minutia where one can find revolution. In any case, take a look while pondering this question: Is the Facebook Status Update a social movement?

Caveat: I am making no assumption about the content of the update or the responses from friends, for that, in my analysis is irrelevant. What is of importance is the performative act of the status process.

Friends who have never met, from different parts of your life—professionally, personally, from your past, present and future—all converge in a new social intercourse unrealized during humanity’s short existence. I’ll share the moment that made me ponder this. The names are removed and the status commentary is removed, because as I firmly believe those are irrelevant.

I post an update on Facebook. Friend A (an elementary school friend made in 1992—Southern Illinois) makes a comment about my update. Friend B (a friend I made in DC circa 2007) comments on my status update and replies to what Friend A said. To which Friend A comments back [enter the feedback loop].

Friend from 1992 Southern Illinois has just engaged in social discourse with 2007 Washington, DC friend.
The Jason of 1992 has just met the Jason of 2007 DC.

At an instant, space and time are traversed. The effect is a fundamental transformation of how individuals relate not only to ourselves but also to each other. It is social reformation as hypertext clocked in realtime and networkedtime.

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