Sometimes it’s difficult to do the right thing however hard you try.
Cyclorama started a Facebook page recently. In less than a week we have met lovely cycling folk all over the world from Peru to Taiwan, from two miles away to the other side of the world. 500+ cyclists from BMXers to fixed riders to triathletes have clicked the confirm button which appeared on their profile in response to our friend request or have asked us to be theirs. Quite amazing. It warms the heart it really does. There are very many very cool people out there riding bikes and it’s been a genuine pleasure meeting everyone.
And it’s been really interesting seeing the connections between people. The selection process is simple and based mainly on whether or not the person has a bike in their profile picture. Click on any one of them and they might share 2, 5 or even a hundred mutual friends! I kid you not. It’s like a spider’s web. Of cyclists. Which puts me in mind of The Six Degrees of Separation (and its derivative game; Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon). The theory that everyone on the planet is connected via the encounters between fewer than six people. Including Kevin Bacon of course. Who knows how to ride a bike.
See what I did there?
Now, obviously the lovely folk in charge of Facebook have to put systems in place to protect members from harassment and annoyance. Well it seems that we have made too many friends too quickly! Cyclorama Dot Net has been barred from inviting any new friends. Facebook will not tell Cyclorama Dot Net how long the ban runs, nor how many Facebook friends we will be allowed to make per day when it lifts. Nor will it enter into any dialogue on the subject. Hey, it’s their ball and their rules. So we’ll have to tread carefully lest we suffer the embarrassment of having our virtual self deleted forever. It’s such a drag being popular!
Luckily people can still ask us to be their friends so Cyclorama Dot Net’s circle of friends can continue to grow.
Just a little bit slower from now on.
