Want to know what I think of you? Read this

 

"Hey, cat! You have cheese on your head!" - Anonymous.

How would you feel if I told you to your face exactly what I think of you? You'd probably hit me, and I wouldn't blame you. Now, how would you feel if I told you exactly what I think of you anonymously over the Internet? You'd probably do quite a bit of research to track down my IP address and then my real address with the goal of hitting me. But you wouldn't be able to. Ha!

While being blunt with someone you're not too fond of is a time-honored tradition at bars and inside New Jersey state limits, it's going to become viral on the Web very soon. At least, that's my prediction. I read Mashable's take on a brand new social media site that's about to hit the Internet for beta testing very soon. It's called Failin.gs, or Failings for those of you who don't understand this new wave of URL addresses. Basically, Failin.gs is going to give users the ability to track down their friends on the site and tell them everything they have always wanted to with the added convenience of Web 2.0 anonymity. That's right. They'll never know it's you who told them there's an odor that persists whenever they stand up after sitting for a while or that you think their lame attempt at a mustache is childish and creepy.

In an added bonus, Failin.gs allows users to categorize the things people say about them. Users can choose the following: "I knew this about me," "I had no idea," and "I totally disagree." Something tells me the disagree function will be used quite often on this site, although it'll be interesting to see the types of things that fall under the "I knew this about me" category.

This site may seem like a hilarious spoof on social media, but it's not. It's the real deal. It's like a more hurtful version of Hot or Not. And my prediction is that it will be wildly successful when it finally launches gets some legs. For me, this is just the latest chapter in the "Me-First" generation. It allows all of us to feed into the curiosity we've always had about how people feel toward us. It allows us to focus more on ourselves. More importantly, it allows us the opportunity to tear people down without all the guilt that comes from confrontation and punches while making us feel better about us. Social media is not without its flaws, and the perpetuation of the "Me-First" mind-set is definitely one of them. It's that mind-set that spawns ideas like Failin.gs and keeps us constantly searching for validation and approval from others. But it's that mind-set that will likely allow Failin.gs to torch the Internet ablaze. And I say good for Failin.gs. It has a niche and it definitely has a market. Everything is set up for it to be successful.

But will I join the site to hear what people really think of me? Absolutely not. That's what I have a blog for. Besides, I bruise easily in the emotional sense. Failin.gs is just not for me. But what about you? Is this a site you would join? I'm interested in knowing why or why not. Please comment below.

As always, you can follow me on Twitter @JayAdams70.