If you are reading my blog, then obviously you use the internet for stuff.  And if you use the internet for stuff and haven’t had your head shoved under a Beta player for the last few years, you probably know what the Facebook is.  The Facebook.  It’s like MySpace without maddening embedded music and visually assaulting templates that crash a computer due to graphics of fairies and World of Warcraft backgrounds. 

Today on Facebook, I noticed an application you can add to your profile called “Hot or Not.” The description is, verbatim:

“Help people know you better by showing logos of the brands you identify with. Compare what you like with your friends.

Are you Mac or PC? Rock or Hip Hop? Hollister or American Eagle? Myspace or Facebook? 24 or Heroes?

Show people what you are all about. Better than Facebook’s info section because this is all logos, and no one reads your profile anyways [sic]”

My first thought was, “Oh!  How clever!  I might communicate to the world what I am about through visual stimuli!”

At some point after Satan came and danced a triumphant jig on my keyboard and the Rider on the Pale Horse dropped pestilence off for a play date, I realized perhaps this wasn’t such a positive development.  Hello--people?  Yeah, the Facebook is encouraging you to brand yourself.  Not unlike cattle.  Not unlike tagging yourself with the mark of the beast.  Not unlike SURRENDERING YOUR ENTIRE IDENTITY TO MARKETING EXPERTS.

Am I overreacting?  Is this just harmless fun?  I don’t know.  Perhaps I’ll discuss it with the Morning Star, who stuck around to read Facebook profiles from my laptop.