An article that popped up on my Google Reader entitled "Egyptian Baby Girl Named "Facebook" After Revolution" immediately caught my attention. The article depicts how Jamal Ibrahim named his newborn daughter Facebook. I read this and thought it sounded a little absurd, but the article explains how Ibrahim did this to honor how much Facebook had aided Egyptians during the recent revolution.
Social networking sites are have a massive amount of influence in the world today and this is just one example. We often see people naming their children after their favorite movie stars or other artists and now we have a case of a child being named after a social networking site. Facebook is having such an influence on people and their ability to communicate effectively from continent to continent that it is mirroring reactions that people might have with their favorite celebrity.
Facebook has created an easy way for normal people to organize and create revolutions, that can lead to freedom in Egypt's case. Facebook and other social networking sites are now forums of power for people which is why they are posed as so critical in today's politics.
Ibrahim naming his baby girl Facebook may seem odd, and I can't say that I would be thrilled to grow up with such a name, but it represents the importance that Facebook played in Egypt's freedom and serves as a memento of how it changed the lives of people in Egypt forever.
As cool as it is that a social network could have such a big impact on a nation's revolution, I agree that I would be less than thrilled to be named "Facebook" - especially when the parents could have gone with something like "Freedom".
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