1. Twitter – While I actually started using Twitter in early 2007 I really didn’t “get it” until this past summer.  It has now officially taken over as my online “crack” which I need to check in on at least 5 times daily.  Still very much for the techy crowd but I predict that changes in 2009.
2. Mint – This online personal finance tool is perfect keeping tabs on your money, tracking a budget and seeing all your investments in one place.
3. Google Reader – This handy tool is perfect for consolidating multiple content sources into a single, easy to manage feed.
4. FaceBook – Not much needs to be said here.
5. Hulu – This video streaming site offers high-resolution TV shows and movies.  Their library includes FOX, NBC, Comedy Central, Sony Pictures, Universal Pictures and many more.

While there are plenty of others that deserve honorable mention these five are constants that I have added to my regular online routine.  Be sure to leave a comment and let me know whats on your list.

So it is with great sadness that today is the day I proclaim that Facebook has jumped the shark. If your not familiar with the term “jump the shark” look no further than UrbanDictionary.com which defines it as “a term to describe a moment when something that was once great has reached a point where it will now decline in quality and popularity.” Of course, the term originates from the classic TV show Happy Days which despite it legions of fans hung around a little longer than it’s shelf life and eventually became a bit of a joke (see video below).

Anyway, back to the point.  As if it were not bad enough that that my FB experience has become a mix of

• certain folks who give the details of every moment of their lives (do you really need to announce that your going the bed????)
• others who feel that they need to post witty/insightful/wise/funny updates which probably took a good portion of their day to refine prior to posting
• scanned pictures from 15+ years ago to allow others to share in high school nostalgia

But today was the day I casually checked my email account to find a FB friend request from a friend of my mother!  My mom! Her friend is 78 years old!

Don’t get me wrong.  I am not prejudice to the elderly.  This particular woman is a close family friend and extremely cool regardless of her age.  But I can’t help feeling like a line has been crossed.  Social media and for that matter the internet are a part of my generation and more specifically my own existence.  I make my living as a technical director for an online retailer.  I spent my early 20′s riding the dot com wave.  How is it that someone born before World War II is sending me friend requests????

I guess I need to remember that this website began as a way for Harvard coeds to get to know each other and has expanded into every corner of society.  I know how pissed the college crowd was when FB lost it’s cred and went “mainstream” by opening up to others.  I guess I am going through a similar experience.  Am I going to stop visiting the site on a regular basis?  Of course not.  But as one of the earlier adopters of social media it is starting to feel like Facebook and others in it’s genre are getting a little less “special”.

Oh well, you can’t fight progress.