Have We Gone 2.0 Far? Facebook Wedding Invites!?
Posted in Social Media
Written by: Robert Gorell
I got an email from Facebook this morning, informing me that I had been invited to the wedding of one of my best friends:
I repeat, I got an email from Facebook this morning, informing me that I had been invited to the wedding of one of my best friends.
Apparently, he and his fiancé — also a friend — are worried their close friends, all devout music geeks, might buy tickets to this concert in September (a legitimate fear in my case) and thus have an excuse (albeit a weak one) to miss the wedding (which they would understand because they’d totally be there if they weren’t, um… getting married).
Have we gone too far?
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Written by:Robert Gorell
Maybe you’ll get an evite too.
All kidding aside though, I am beginning to enter the socail networking world myself and am finding it a bit easier to reserve time with some of my friends through Facebook rather than play phone tag for two weeks.
It is also a low-cost alternative to the “Save this Date” type of letters I’ve always gotten and end up losing within the first two days because I don’t like to put things on the refrigerator door. This is definitely a great way to have a reminder since I check my Facebook page all the time.
I agree, it’s so much more convenient to communicate with friends (heck friends you haven’t seen and talked to you for YEARS), however, you do lose that “personal touch” element. This mass form of communication clumps all friends together in one big group. You are probably in touch with more people than ever because of social networking, but you “lose touch” with a lot of close friends because of the limitations in personalized communication 2.0 offers.
So, my friends and family need to have a Facebook account to be invited to my wedding? That’s kind of lame.
David,
No, it wasn’t exactly like that. They seemed to be using Facebook defensively to make sure that a handful of their friends didn’t make other plans. There were less than 10 people invited to the Facebook group for the wedding, but I believe there are about 150 at the wedding, total — most of whom likely don’t have an account.
I found it stunning at first, but now it seems to make a bit of sense. A bit ridiculous, but what a sign of the times!
And I wasn’t invited?
Robert,
I am planning a wedding with the date far out in the future. While I didn’t use Facebook, I did send out a fancy Save the Date ‘bulk’ email to everyone we are inviting . It included our photo and information they will need to make their plans - date, time, place, hotel, airport, driving times, etc.
I’ve spoken on the phone to most of these people about the upcoming wedding, we just wanted to let them know the date so they could start making plans.
A sign of the times? Yep, you betcha!
It has been 28 years since my last wedding. I am a Baby Boomer, not a Gen Whatever! When a Save the Date email was first suggested to me, I was horrified.
I jokingly talked to a few friends about it, and they were the ones who convinced me it would be a good thing to do. An email allows them to immediately put it into their calendar, on their computer or online, and not have to post it on their fridge and then forget to put it in their calendar.
So, it is a new world and even this old Baby Boomer can learn new tricks. I’m even building a web site with information and links about the wedding!
O:-)
I agree with Ayat and Marie. Being recently new to Facebook, I found it very useful that I can keep in touch with current friends and acquaintances as well as on going business events that I otherwise would not be aware of.
I think that people should use whatever means (so long as its not offensive) to keep in touch with people, even as far as wedding invites or “save the dates”, thru emails or electronic form.
Being in the wedding business for over 20 years, I’ve have either heard or seen stranger than fiction stories of what people do when they get married, usually one looks back and just chuckles.
So I have one to share. I recently learned of a extended family member passing through Facebook. So remember that movie Four weddings and a Funeral… Life is funny that way.
hey you’re making doris feel awkward!!
I noticed a friend of mine had added a new photo album to his facebook profile, entitled ‘Ultrasound’…
and in such fashion the good and joyous news was broken!
hmmm…
I think this can ruffle a few feathers when friends who didn’t get the invite see stories in their newsfeeds “X of your friends are attenting Jill and Johnny’s Wedding”
I recently got invited to a retirement party for one of my old gymnastics coaches from high school. The party is in March 2009. Talk about planning into the future. I’m sure there’s a rock concert I’ve already committed too, though. Shoulda told me sooner. Really.
Robert,
It’s My Bloody Valentine. Who cares about your friends wedding? This is MBV we are talking about!
Option 1: Watch the people who made Loveless, and may never well tour again
Option 2: People dancing drunk to a DJ playing Gloria Gaynor at a wedding.
I think your choice is clear.
Wow.
2.0 far, indeed. Well, at least now your L.A. friend and his fiancé will know 4.0 sure who their real friends are, and that would be gr-8.0.