You Will Be Assimilated

Since the rise of Google+, I've been growing increasingly suspicious of Facebook. When it was no longer the only option available for a site of its kind that actually worked well and was popular enough to talk to people on it, it became possible to see past its ugly facade.

People wonder how it makes money. Or, they used to. I think at this point, it's glaringly obvious by their less-than-subtle advertisements posted everywhere, taking up half a screen on a mobile device before you scroll away. But the advertising space is pointless without the actual product of Facebook: us. You might have seen the image going around of the pigs who love their sheltered home and their free food, making it clear: when you're not paying for a product, you are the product.

Facebook has, since entering the stock market, gone through a number of changes. Specifically, I've noticed over the past month or so, it's seeking to get to know its users a little better. Have you seen the new "how your feeling" aspect of status updates? How about films and books popping up with the question to add them to your lists?

Effectively, this is adding to the information Facebook has to point ads more directly at us. The feelings less so, less obviously at least. But the books? The films? The music? It creates a database of what you like that isn't a like page. It allows Facebook to figure out what sort of person you are, what you might like, and with that information they point advertisements at you in the hopes that you click on them. You click, they get paid, they win. You've just been sold to an advertiser.

Between the feelings and the lists, it's clear what's happening: Facebook are becoming the Borg, and we will be assimilated.

(Now that this has degenerated into nerd humour, I think we should finish here... Beware of Facebook!)

Magical Mayhem: On First Gathering

There's this little game you can play with cards. It's called Magic: The Gathering. Maybe you've heard of it. If you're a 90s kid, think Pokemon or YuGiOh, but actually good.

My first ever experience with Magic was when my brother got a free booster pack in a magazine several years ago. And up until today, it was my only experience with the game. We never bought more cards, we never learned how to play.

Over the weekend, a friend of mine asked if I'd be interested in playing. Knowing that the game required an actual deck, some patience to learn the basics and money to buy even a cheap deck, I should have said, "It seems like too much work for me right now." But I thought back to the awesome artwork, and to my limited experience playing Dungeons and Dragons, and I agreed to play.

Today, I bought my first deck. Well, two. It was a duel deck pack, Vesner vs. Koth. Why? Because I was too shy to ask if they had any Carnival of Blood. Thankfully, Facebook means I don't have to ask sheepishly in person. I just messaged them, mid-writing this post, to ask.

My first reaction to playing the game: this is hard. Then I remembered my friend was a semi-experienced player, with three decks he knew how to use, and I had only just started. So when he beat me in two games, I wasn't too annoyed. Because another friend showed up, who had also played before, and I beat her. Quite viciously, too, I might add. Land cards don't like her.

I've only used Koth so far. It's not that I didn't like the look of Vesner, mind you. In fact, I preferred the look of him. But I recalled reading that blue cards are some of the hardest to use, and I wasn't about to get myself into that mess. So I used a good ol' red deck and got used to powering up creatures simply by having lands to play.

That was nerd talk for: I had lots of one type of card that made it so I could kick ass a little easier.

So, three matches in and I've already agreed to an idea posed by friend #1: we're going to have tournaments. Not big ones with lots of really experienced players, mind you. We're going to just have four players, a €1 entry fee and a booster pack as the prize. It's a simple way to get us all playing and to make it worth winning.

So, I'll probably be blogging about my experience with this, oh so wonderfully nerdy game, for a while. At least until that gets boring. (As if!)