Facebook loses the “is”

Date December 13, 2007

Facebook

Adam is…happy, but confused. I joined the Facebook group that wanted Facebook to get rid of the “is” in their Status Updates. It felt so confining, so restricting

Well, we got what we asked for. And now…now I don’t know what to do. I feel like it’s going to take me twice as long to update this status line now. And now, after joining that Facebook group, I feel like I’ll be a traitor if I use “is” - so that just adds even more pressure to trying to be creative and come up with other verbs…

So now I’m not so sure I want it gone. Does it give me more freedom? Sure it does. Maybe too much. Now I might just have to write the “is” in myself each time. Sad day.

What does everyone else think about the loss of the Facebook “is”?

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11 Responses to “Facebook loses the “is””

  1. Cate said:

    Tell me about it! I too now can’t seem to think of anything to put in my status that DOESN’T start with ‘is’. And it used to be that I couldn’t think of anything that DID start with it. Ahhhh, Facebook. What complications you bring to our lives!

  2. josh said:

    you only have to use “is” if you’re a nerd and don’t use twitter.

    that’s all i’m saying.

  3. Phil Hull said:

    It’s not that you can’t use ‘is’ anymore, it’s that you have the option to use is if it fits.

  4. Rick said:

    I thought it forced a certain creativity to make it sound right with the “is”. Now I’ll have to think in a different verb tense, and I is not happy about it.

  5. Matt Singley said:

    Confession: my first Facebook status update since the removal of the forced “is” starts with “is”. I guess I’m a creature of habit.

    I guess this brings us back to Bill Clinton and his classic “it depends on what the definition of “is” is” statement. It always comes back to “is”.

  6. dave paisley said:

    God, life is so hard in a pomo world…

  7. Adam Copeland said:

    Geez, I go to London for a day and not only does facebook status change, but you beat me to it so now I can’t even post on it.

    That said, I am pretty proud of my current status (yes, I know I have no life).
    A Wee Blether

  8. Rob Robinson said:

    Confession: my first Facebook status update since the removal of the forced “is” starts with “is”. I guess I’m a creature of habit.

    Me, too. I felt so wrong doing that, too, after joining the “No More Is” group. I’m glad to see the change, but it does make it more challenging to think of non-is updates.

  9. Victor said:

    i knew this would happen. i was against removing the is. it is a status message, afterall, which denotes current activity, right?

  10. paul soup said:

    i’m relieved it’s gone.
    past tense.
    future tense.
    colons.
    ellipses…
    i feel all free and goofy inside ;)

  11. Mykel said:

    I have a facebook…dont know why…Myspace is so much easier to find people and talk with.
    Facebook is just a mess…

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