As we say, here on the internets, hilarity ensued. The comments thread was almost instantly deluged with people who appear to login to facebook by typing “facebook login” into Google, clicking on some high-up link, and then… trying to login. They are then confronted with RWW’s blog post, seem to find their way to the Facebook Connect button, and believe they are thus logging into Facebook.

It’s really hilarious. You should read the thread, or as much as you can bear. Pages and pages of it.

1. Ok If I have to I will comment,I love facebook so right now just want to log in if thats ok with you..lol Keep up the good work…
7. I WANT THE OLD FAFEBOOK BACK THIS SHIT IS WACK!!!!!
12. I just want to log in to Facebook – what with the red color and all? LOLLLOLOL!!!!!111
91. Ok so just when i thought I had about 65% learned facebook, you go and change stuff. No fair.

And so on. All the above are authenticated Facebook users.

But it’s more than just hilarious. It’s a good lesson for those of us for whom the internet comes easy. It brings the message home even more strongly than the stupid email forwards and Facebook memes and phishing scams. This is what we’re dealing with.

Sure, Facebook Connect is a slightly complex concept: it’s one of a number of ways that people can tell any site who they are; you say to that site (RWW in this case), “I’m Peter Hollo at Facebook”, and prove it by authenticating with Facebook Connect. The site gets some confirmation direct from Facebook, and says, “OK, you’re now Peter Hollo (Facebook) over here and can comment away”.
Facebook thus becomes a kind of centralised identity provider, and they’re in competition with Google, Twitter and others in this regard.

Trouble is, the people we’re dealing with in this comments thread are miles away from understanding this. They don’t seem to even understand the URL bar – and one begins to see why phishing scams are so successful… They recognize the branding of Facebook, but take little else from the page they’re presented with. Google said it was a “facebook login” page, so why is it all red? Where’s my Farmville?

I’m not sure what the ultimate lesson is here, but we should at least remember that there are an awful lot of people out there who are essentially internet illiterate, and are trying to get by in this fast-moving, intertextual, inter-connected world. And it’s hard.
Let’s have a little laugh, and then have a think about the implications – for site design, for more general web strategising, and of course for education.

Meanwhile, since I’m a slack-arse blogger, how about following me on Twitter?

I don’t have the time to comment in-depth (OK, I’m not even commenting shallowly!), but the article linked above was submitted by Jello to Change.gov and one can only hope he actually reads it (yeah I know…). A lot of food for thought there.

I’m not sure it’s any kind of manifesto for fixing shit, but it does manage to express something of the way I feel whenever this happens.

Yes, we mean you. If you can only see the humanity of one side and never the other, one side of the history, and one side of the suffering. If everything you say is to point the finger of blame at the baddies and exonerate the goodies. If you haven’t had a new point to make for five, ten or sixty years.

You are not part of the solution; you are part of the problem.

- if you are ordering pizza for the Israeli Defence Force,
- waving Hamas flags on peace rallies
- organising boycotts, blame and ostracism
- if you think that bombing Gaza will bring peace
- if you think Hamas are a bunch of valiant freedom fighters
- if all you can do is quote SWP or Conservative Friends of Israel talking points…

Peace is difficult because it will come when Palestinians and Israelis recognise the essential truth – that their peace and security is mutually inter-dependent.

That’s difficult for those at the centre of the conflict. But what’s your excuse?

Meanwhile, the wonderful Israeli author Etgar Keret has an article in the LA Times on “Proportionality”. He argues, in his usual measured fashion, that a mathematical analogy is useless when both sides refuse to accept the narrative, and the suffering, of the other.

The only equation I can wholeheartedly accept is one whereby zero bodies appear on either side of the equation. And until that time comes, I’ll choose outcry and protest that appeal solely to the heart. I shall reserve my appeals to the mind for better times.

And for some light relief, here’s Jon Stewart (another leftist Jew) at the beginning of the latest(?) edition of the Daily Show, suggesting that Israel is just “getting their bombing in before the January 20th hope and change deadline”. January 20th is of course the date of the Obama inauguration. Stewart inevitably veers close to “making light” of the suffering, but that’s satire for you. He pretty much nails it, especially on the mendacious hypocrisy as ever on both sides of US politics.
We’re not doing much better here, and you might want to support Amnesty’s campaign for the UN Security Council to take decisive action (a “humanitarian corridor” and 3hrs of ceasfire a day really ain’t enough…)

So, hi from my iPhone! Typing HTML code is annoying, but other than that, it’s way cool :)

And here’s Obama coming out now, and the ABC feed of the CNN feed is distorting like crazy. He’s a rock star. He’s looking pleased but tired. Congratulations, Obama family, you’ve done something wonderful. Now don’t fuck it up, m’kay?
It’s a nice speech so far.

This is a bit depressing: Local Ballot Measures. No conclusion on California’s poisonous Proposition 8 yet (defining marriage as only between a man & a woman), but a similar proposition in Arizona has gone for “Yes”, and “Yes” is leading in California. Not sure what it’ll mean though…

I recently finished the latest Pratchett, a non-Discworld YA novel called Nation that was an absolute delight – although some of it isn’t that delightful. A cleverly-crafted examination of how people respond to a great calamity, it takes in faith and the loss thereof, the discovery of science and scientific principles, colonialism and more. It’s wonderfully egalitarian, having as its protagonists a young Islander boy and a precocious young girl from quasi-Victorian times. Highly recommended.

Now reading Neal Stephenson’s Anathem, which is a satisfyingly solid tome – over 900 pages, but entirely engrossing. The usual Stephensonian stuff-that-annoys-me annoys me, but that’s ok in a philosophical book like this. And the trade paperback we have in Australia (the UK edition) has a lovely cover and holds together, as I said, as a good solid lump of readin’ matter. Spread it open, other than right near the start or end, and it stays open. Nice one, Atlantic Books!

I look forward to hearing them admit that God did in fact intend for Obama to be President.

[Added later:] Meanwhile, here’s Colbert: