"Put an org chart in front of any executive today and he or she
will tell you that the boxes and lines only partially reflect the
way things are done in the organization." (Clive Thompson)
There is this perception that people have this clear idea of what exactly is going on around them. There is a huge difference between what people see on a screen or on a chart and reality. Facebook is a really good example of this in that there are some who delude themselves into thinking they are popular just because they have a lot of friends. They fail to consider the fact that there may be people they have not talked to in years or their friend's friend who they met at a party and have not seen since. These people with hundreds of friends may then find themselves in the situation where they have 50 friends signed on to chat, but no one they would actually want to have a conversation with, in person or via computer.
Some people may insist that they really do know the difference between people they accepted as friends out of pity or some extenuating circumstance and their real friends, but as Clive Thompson said, "those who are most adamant in asserting that they know their network are usually the farthest off base." So these people who insist they know exactly where they stand with all of their Facebook friends may be the least in touch with reality in terms of who they are likely to see on Friday night.
