The Harder They Fall

I'm not big on conspiracy theory, but that doesn't mean there aren't conspiracies, of which one may be the Fall of Facebook. It intrigues me that Mark Z, a self-admitted ass who dared anyone to challenge him, could hold himself so far above other mere mortals, seemingly bullet-proof, waiting until he chose the time, the place, and the conditions for going public with his company, and have it end in complete and utter humiliation.

Almost as if the Winkelvoss twins master-minded the entire take-down! Pistachios be damned: the boys couldn't win big in a court of law, but they could, with their generations of family resources, win in the marketplace. And that's the only place winning matters: the wallet.

Mark and his new bride have fallen far, but my mother always said that the bigger they are, the harder they fall. People who put themselves above others need what used to be called a comeuppance, a personal take-down to put life into a different perspective, one that sees both sides of success, rather than just the "I won" side. Even Charlie Sheen had to admit that if the only person who believes he is winning is himself, it's not winning: it's losing. People who use other people seem to get what's coming to them, sooner or later, and sometimes, it's a hard hit, much harder than anyone imagined it could be.

Facebook will survive because it defines not just a generation, but a new societal model of interaction that is vital to many people living lives of quiet desperation. Society's lost people find each other on Facebook, sitting isolated in their living spaces and "friending" complete strangers to build a profile of likeability that they can never achieve in the world outside their bedroom doors. People remake themselves into the image they wish they were, refusing to accept personal limitations in favor of public fantasies. People who seldom were featured in their high school yearbooks recreate themselves through their own personal "facebook," a fantasy that appeals even to the most secure over-achiever for whom there never can be enough acclaim.

The stock will rebound; Facebook will go on; but, perhaps, there is a life lesson learned in the process that will change the dynamics of the "I"-centered generation responsible for its creation.