SNS / FNS ???

Social Networking Sites (SNS) when arrived, came across as a great source to hangout with your buddies on the web space. With a series applications buzzing in the Networking slot, these sites are becoming the coolest, trendiest and amazing sources to connect with your dearies. These sites paving way to daily or weekend hangouts on the virtual web space complement our fast pace routines and break-neck schedules that we hung ourselves onto. It's simply great to have your buzzing folk fraternity to hangout with you and keep you updated about the fraternity meets and tweets.

The fad of SNS hit off well with the Indian community round the globe like their fellow tweety counterparts mapped across the planet. But sensing the excitement of an average Big Fat Indian Family, SNS was a kind of boon to locate your long lost bhai & bhabhi, jiji & jijaaji, chachaji & chachiji, phuphajji, buaji, etc. etc. etc. the list is endless. GOSH!!! Unlike the westerners, who merely acknowledge their kins or shoo them off declining any kind of 'add me requests', Indians are more prone to get jammed in the family network on this web space. This is what exactly turning SNS into FNS (Family Networking Sites). With your siblings and cousins tresspassing into your friend-list spaces and jamming in wall-to-wall posts commenting on family occassions & their Khule-aam opinions like "Twinkle bua looking funny doing those bhangra-ballet sequence" and "Puneet chachu looking pretty dumped in his weekend family trip to Mahabaleshwar with his only wife"... arghhhhhh... Only wife??? What do you mean by that? Apart from these scrapy siblings, there is a batch of chachu's and mamu's eyeing your profiles, to fix you up virtually with your folks "hmmm kuch toh baat hai..." Ufff...

And if this is not all, there are your bade bujurg lining up to join you on the SNS. For them, the last name does the trick. If you have your last name on your profile, boss tab toh aap phass gaye. They look for the communities of the family last names and knock you down with their 'add-me requests'. Hell... and how can you decline their request which reads, "Hello beta, this is your Binny mausi here... good to join you." And what next, you accept their request and they enter your list of buddies :( Once they join you, its like meeting one and all of your long lost kins across boundaries raining in. Alas you have an unlicensed and unwanted family tree application loaded in your profile. Probably one of the deadliest weapon on your applications list. While you enter the zone of SNS for 'nurturing' your social life looking forward to entertaining tweets, happening wall posts, casual scraps or netblogs, your kins follow suit like 'one big happy joint family' there too with no chance to keep you hep & pepped up on your SNS profiling space while you still keep praying -

"Give Me some sunshine

Give Me some space

Give Me another chance

I wanna grow up once again."

How much public is personal tweeting?

With the on-going trend of posting oneself apparently on the web, privacy settings on Social Networking Sites (SNS) may take a nap. Everytime you open your home page on an SNS, you get a list of notifications about 'X' is out for a bash, 'Y' is pissed off with the routine schedules, 'Z' is healing his broken heart yet again. Besides those minute-to-minute detailing with a potful of comments toss you further to a 'Like it' or 'Report abuse' dilemma. Ufff... Boss, does it really matter to the world what you are upto?

Your profile which is already laden with numerous applications exhibiting your talent studded persona already gives you that coveted edgy level, screaming 'I m what I am'... But again you bring in those status messages, wall posts and tweets to redefine your statement which changes every moment... And you make it sure your friends and followers know the new thing you are in. This surely gets you that fraction seconds of fame in your tweeting fraternity but yet again its "NOW HERE, tomorrow NOWHERE syndrome". It the same you but with a confused mind, an even confused attitude, a super confusing status message and a 'ohh not again' response on part of your folks.

At times these tweeting changes do deck up your profile with wow-something-new-&-interesting factor for fortnightly followers. It makes them feel like back after a long unposting spree. Well, kind of a feel good factor. It urges them to contribute on there part to the 'tweetfolk culture' and jingle a bit here and bit there for still being part of the 'tweetery club'... These are the Happy Hours or rather Happy Minutes!

Wall posts and Tweets do pep up your profile and boosts your mental immune systems on an SNS wherein you need to showcase your 'Kewl Image'. But at times a lot of postings may confuse your folks about your multi-tasking talent leaving them no option than to post blank comments with Emoticons - :) / :P / ;) /:D / :- ...... They mean a lot and often pose as 'relief mechanisms' to save one from constant tweet bombarding by your sweet folks.

These minute postings also at times blend your personal and professional images with a dash of schizophrenic personality traits (Opps!!) With all your directors, boses and colleagues going tweet, tweet, tweet forming a virtual 'Net' of Company web board meet in this networking space, wonder how each one would react to one another's social profiling.