Sharing on Facebook - The Knowledge, The Compassion and The Stupidity.

Facebook. It began as an idea. It began with one message, and gathered information, like a snow ball gathers so many snowflakes as it rolls on down that slope. So how can this helps us and help us to spread information. Well, put quite simply, our articles, photo's, idea's and thoughts can work the same.

Facebook, has the power, with one click, to send a shock wave of information, to be spread across countless pages. And the individual who operates each of these pages, of course may become interested, and in turn, just give it a click. And so the snowball rolls a little further.

This can help accumulate a mass amount of money for so many. Through advertising, games, events, and countless other money spinners. But there is one thing people always seem to overlook. The positive side of the sharing. Lets take a look at how sharing through facebook can have a positive impact on the individual and mankind as a whole.

We all know that we can click and share the funny picture of the monkey on national geographic, or the amazing story of Newgrange we saw on the History Channel. Yet, many people don't understand that through that small click, we are indeed sharing knowledge.

The simple fact, that all of our friends will see this information, and maybe, just maybe, they will read the whole article, is in itself an amazing thing. If we were to think back to 100 years ago, or even 50 years ago, the people of the time, would hardly believe this. They would indeed, think that we are the luckiest generation in history.

Thinking in this light, one may even believe that for all of those on facebook, and thanks to facebook, ignorance is no longer an excuse for the members of the site. This in itself is an amazing step forward.

During the last few years, I have now seen countless chains created on facebook. Some of which, have even spurred celebrities to play the hero role, and show up at the hospital, where the victims of a shooting are being treated for their wounds. This indeed was quite a remarkable feat.

We have seen outpourings of sympathy for the families of the slain. We have seen boycotts of certain products going viral, due to the simple sharing of this information. And this also has a knock on effect, creating a better sense of ethical responsibility within many multinational conglomerates.

The sharing of information on facebook, has undoubtedly created a higher level of compassion among people, due to the sharing of information.

And then again, there are 'the stupid'. The sharing of information across facebook has, indeed caused a lot of annoyance. Not only do we worry about what we should and should not share on facebook, but it also annoys the majority of us when others share inappropriate content.

This has led to a spike in the number of internal viruses on facebook. People clicking on inappropriate or funny videos, or articles that have popped up on their friends news feed, may be in for a nasty surprise. They will usually have this virus spread throughout their own page, and may even face being locked out of their own account. It may work as a reminder to be cautious of what we click.

Another 'stupid', would be the abundance of the ever annoying chain mails that we see on a daily basis. Some of us have even fallen for the fake pictures some members of the site put up, with a request for others to share. This is sometimes a foul attempt to gain attention, where the culprit even uses real photographs or pretends to be a relative of the victim. In some cases the story is completely made up, and the request to share, is simply an attempt to defraud people out of money.

It could be said, and it has been said, that the sharing of information on Facebook, is foolish. In certain circumstances I would agree. However, I think we can all agree, that without the ability to share on facebook, or other similar websites, the level of knowledge we each share today, would not be the same.