Randy Bowman, Staff Reporter

Jamaican Gina-Lee Lawrence pops out her BlackBerry and scrolls to an interconnectivity portal that beats email, text messaging and the old-world relic, the post office.

Facebook, the social-networking site which has more than 175 million members, has shrunk the planet into a peanut and broken down more barriers than 100-metre wunderkind, Usain Bolt.

And, boy, has Facebook taken off in Jamaica.

What distinguishes Facebook from the oddball website is that it's the virtual Communication Central - an ever-growing e-airport terminal where average joes and Hollywood celebs can rub shoulders. More important, it gives Lawrence and tens of thousands from 'Jamdown' the ability to link up with friends near and far.

"I've got back in contact with people I lost contact with years ago, like prep-school people and I've even found family on Facebook - family I didn't even know!" she told Saturday Life in a Facebook interview, changing the landscape of the traditional journalism telephone or sit-down interface.

Lawrence also mentioned that it's a great way for event planners to advertise upcoming events.

"It's an excellent way for promoters to publicise their parties and they generally have a gist of the turnout. I've attended a lot of surprise parties via Facebook as there is a way u (it's not a spelling error, teachers) can make an event private and only invite certain individuals."

Just like texting and email lingo, Facebook sheds the grammar straightjacket for more youth-friendly spelling like 'u', sure to aggrieve standard English sticklers. Teeny-boppers and hip young adults, however, will likely hit back, "Old fogies."

Twenty-one-year-old Aneka Smith shares Lawrence's sentiments.

"Facebook is great tool to have in the 21st century. Due to my fast-paced environment (New York City), it allows me to keep in touch with family and friends that are in various locations.

"It makes planning a party and other events a lot easier too. Facebook is also cheap, efficient and easy to use, which is an ideal tool for the younger generation in this high-tech world," she said, also through a Facebook interview.

Lawrence has taken the link one step further. She and her high-school batchmates have a Friday Lyme every week that was started via Facebook, obviating the need for once-in-a-lifetime reunions which cost mucho dinero and take years to organise.

Friendships aren't the only relationships that are hitting the reconnect button. Many members give the thumbs up to the possibility of restoring family ties which had become unravelled by time and distance.

Facebooking with Paul Distant, a 37-year-old entrepreneur, he said: "Facebook is a unique medium which can be used in so many different ways to fulfil so many needs.

"The basic need is to interact with others who share common interests. Its ability to reunite users with long-lost family and friends is tremendous. It is a bridge to the past and the future."

Making connections

For Samantha Davis, Facebook is super, as her mom's goddaughter located her and her sister on the social-networking site after a lapse of 10 years.

Evan Watson, who recently migrated with his wife and unborn child to Canada, is glad that the website helps him keep in close contact with his loved ones in Jamaica.

"Boy, I'm glad for the economical, easy and efficient way Facebook has allowed me to stay in touch. With just the click of a button, I can talk and share," Watson told Saturday Life.

You've got the power

Lawrence discounted opinions that Facebook was merely for inquisitive Net users who drool over others' business, but warned that persons should be careful of content postings.

"I always tell people, you put the info out there, you - as a member - control who sees what.

"Did you know that in some HR departments they look on (prospective employees') Facebook profiles just to have an idea of who you are?" she affirmed.

Though Facebook originally targeted university students and later high-schoolers, the demographic shift has been remarkable, as older members dived into the info-sharing pool. Lawrence said she has noticed a lot of parents and grandparents crashing the party.

"Good thing there is such a thing as placing people on 'limited profile'. That's what a lot of my people do to their parents. LOL!" she quipped.

"How Facebook affects someone is dependent on how they use it."

randy.bowman@gleanerjm.com