I often wonder at some of the people that are suggested as friends for me by Facebook. For the most part, they make
sense. The suggestions are usually pointing me at people who I have lost touch with, worked with in the past, or with whom I share multiple friends. Every now and then, however, I get one that leaves me scratching my head. Over the past week or so, Ben Aflec actually keeps popping up for me. This leaves me with a few questions. Does Ben really not know how to spell his name? Judging by some of his movie roles, that actually isn't as absurd an idea as one might think. Is he using this odd spelling as a decoy to try to fool potential stalkers? Again, the intelligence of dropping a couple of letter to hide your true name really doesn't factor into it. Could you imagine having Superman try to befriend you with the moniker "Clak Ken"?
So, with this mystery, I clicked on the link to see if there might be some common thread. Perhaps this is someone I used to work with and is using this as an alias for some reason. It turns out that I don't see a single commonality. But I think I might know why he's being suggested to me. They guy only has 1 friend. Some actor named "Ronald" (no last name).
This leads me to believe that the people at Facebook are coding in some sympathy algorithms. If you only have one friend, they start suggesting you to everyone. This actually makes me kinda warm and fuzzy inside, knowing that if I ever screw up so badly in life that everyone I know ends up hating me. I should be able to count on Facebook to help replenish my stock of buddies.
Much more at peace with the world,
Eddy
