As of this writing, IRS’ Facebook page has been “Liked” 17,878 times.
Surely it’s OK to express surprise. Noting that Round Rock Public Library has 1,687 Likes and we’re SO much nicer wouldn’t be quite as appropriate. And of course further speculation (e.g., how improbable it would be that anyone would un-Like the IRS) would verge on snarkiness.
Whenever I meet with an invitation to “Like us on Facebook”–particularly from a multinational corporation or dignified institution of long standing–I sense a neediness equated more with seventh grade than with the business world.
But perhaps I shouldn’t be so quick to differentiate. Seventh grade is tough–notable increases in workload; changing relationship paradigms; heightened competitiveness; expectation for personal career/vocational forecasting. And of course the need to be liked is paramount. 
Seventh grade success strategies could serve one admirably throughout life. And the internet affords so many useful tools.
Remember this 7th-grade artifact: the diary that one used to record impressions, hopes, concerns, lessons learned? Those documentary journals exist in vibrant profusion online these days (though with less verbiage devoted to the cute boy in homeroom). We call them blogs.
Consider this sampling of online resources for addressing 7th grade/life realities:
People like savvy communicators: TweetQuereet analyzes key interests and allows you to receive your most relevant tweets in a daily digest. SecretInk enables you to send a message that can be read just once (before it self-destructs). Nextdoor, a great solution for neighborhood associations, facilitates a private network to share timely information (“for sale” alerts, etc.).
Yes, you are judged on appearance: Free photo editor Fotor offers clip art, special effects, a mosaic tool, collage and card capability. For your project or home or small business, try LogoGarden‘s free, simple-to-use tool to create a new logo. Weebly provides what you need to set up a free website or blog with a handy drag-and-drop editor.
The opposite sex is really interesting: Yes, but given the plethora of amazingly specific dating sites–for farmers, tall people, folks with red hair, Trekkies, Ivy League graduates, etc. etc–we’ll set this topic aside in favor of…
Good habits pay off: Spend a few minutes every day to stimulate your mind (and satisfy your curiosity) with sites like Digital Public Library of America (virtual exhibits and over 2.4 million artifacts from museums and archives all over the country) and Today in History (which focuses on “one event each day which is put in a socio-cultural context”.)
You don’t have to know what you want to be when you grow up yet: But Occupational Outlook Handbook can advise you what training/certification is required for any career, also whether opportunities in that field will increase or diminish in the next few years.
People like those who can talk about what they like: NPR’s First Listen offers the chance to hear movie soundtracks, indie bands, etc.before the street date. Forvo tells you how to pronounce words–not just in English and not just the ones in the dictionary; names and locations in the news are included. Reddit tracks trends and news on many, many topics.
As Jon Stewart observed, “The Internet is just a world passing notes around the classroom.”
