An interesting article in the Times on the ’25 Things’ meme that’s been washing across Facebook and apparently the entire internet.

A few key passages intrigued me.

“Marlon Brando once said, ‘An actor is a fella who, if you aren’t talking about him, isn’t listening,’ ”

and

“I’ve gotten 25 random things notices from people that absolutely fascinated me,” said Mr. Beaver, the actor. “But I’m pretty certain I wouldn’t want to be stuck on a bus with them telling me these things.”

I’m not entirely sure what it all amounts to. (And despite what all the social media ‘experts’ claim, they aren’t either). But there appear to be some interesting trends around social media.

There’s an increasing number ‘low maintenance’ relationships in our lives where we publish out, and talk about what interests us and hope/assume people are listening. This is in direct contrast to my understanding of friendship growing up, which should start with ‘how are you?’ (a.k.a. concern for the friend rather than just an audience for my own broadcasting.)

We like to talk about ourselves. Social media provide a forum/canvas/venue/platform to gratify our inner need to express ourselves – whether through blog banter (i.e. here) or ’25 random things’ or ‘video blogging’ or publishing our music or photography or whatever. It seems many of us have an artist inside with a need to express him/herself. The motivation for that need is interesting and worth investigating.

It’s also worth noting the word ‘starving’ is often attributed to artists (which is why many of us hedge the inner artist with outer employment) and might be applicable to social media companies too if they don’t figure out a few things pretty quick.

We’re not very careful about our privacy. It’s worse among young people who have not yet felt the sting of something coming back to haunt them in a meaningful way (i.e. job ending, marriage ending, etc.). The older we are, and the more life experience we have underneath us, the more cautious we tend to be.

This, incidentally, is not necessarily in alignment with the implied ‘older people don’t use social media as much a younger people’ They may. They may just not expose themselves as often by signing up, creating profiles, or commenting in blogs. Which I realize begs the question, ‘Well then are they really using social media.’

Touché Self you have a point.

There is also, of course, the reality that the gainfully employed have less time to fritter away commenting on blogs etc. anyhow.

I am curious to see if the Millennial Generation, as they grow up, continues to be recklessly open because of the media they were born into or if they begin to lock down on their privacy a bit as the wisdom of age sets in and they realize the ramifications.

Or, in a third Eutopian scenario – if culturally we stop firing people or divorcing them when pictures surface of them doing naked keg stands.

Today it seems to be assumed that Millennials are simply more open because they grew up among pervasivie connectivity. But I question whether it’s the technology or the naievity of youth that leads to this openness.

Probably a bit of both if I had to put money down now.

Most people I know said, did or revealed some dumb things when they were young. It just wasn’t recorded on a server to haunt them 10 years later (or for their parents, employers, etc. to stumble upon). It was much easier to party hearty when no one had a camera phone to snap a shot as someone shaved your eyebrows while you were passed out.

Lastly, and more superficially, I wonder just how ‘random’ those 25 Random Things are. Is it like resume writing where in coming up with our list, we’re trying to convey a certain message. I certainly did, but I am cautious about my privacy.

This gets to image management, and some interesting articles have been written on our online image and how we control (or lose control) of it.

Again, I don’t have any answers here. Just more and more questions as these little cultural memes fly across my radar. There’s so much changing so fast, it seems premature to do anything but to observe, think and ask.