Take the population-we™ Facebook Voyeur Challenge

This post is my intervention -- I'm a voyeur. Places I’ve always enjoyed watching people includes shopping malls and sporting events. My all-time favorite experiences include watching: a Louisiana State University (LSU) baseball fan at a 1991 College World Series game and a super fan at a recent University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO) hockey series at Qwest Center Omaha.

Anyone who has ever attended the Omaha College World Series (CWS) knows LSU fans are fun to be around. The enthusiasm and Mardi Gras beads they bring to the game are a real treat. LSU fans come year-after-year, even if their team isn’t in the CWS. At a CWS game in 1991, a LSU fan sneaked in a bottle of Jack Daniels to the cheap seats (it was 98 degrees weather). Now, I don’t condone this behavior; however, the progression of this LSU fan and people around her was like watching a British comedy unfold. Beach ball mania, heckling the right fielder and our section starting the wave were among the debauchery. It was truly the most entertaining crowd interaction I’ve ever witnessed until last month.

While attending UNO’s Feb. 11 sell-out ice hockey game against the University of Wisconsin Badgers my friends and I witnessed the most memorable hockey fan ever. The game was played in front of a crowd of 15,137 at Qwest Center Omaha. We scored some free tickets from our bank and invited some friends along. Sitting in the cheap seats we encountered a very enthusiastic Maverick hockey fan who by the end of the evening we would deem – ‘THE SUPERFAN.’ He was very vocal throughout the three periods. Besides his apparent feelings for a particular Badgers' player -- he'd boo every time this player got the puck -- his fandom was tested. As the periods unfolded, he would more aggressively try to get the college students sitting in his row to put down their Blackberry's and iPhone's and cheer for the Mavs. Eventually everyone was on their feet cheering the Mavs to a 4-1 victory against the No. 7 Wisconsin Badgers. My girlfriends and I were so intrigued with the Maverick fan that we refused to move to sit with some other friends in fear we’d miss THE SUPERFAN in action. 

Recently, at my day job we moved and I now have an office with a view. Not much time to really peer out the window; since, I’m always on deadline but on occasion I’m able to take a snippet of something to chuckle or gawk at.

Things I’ve encountered looking outside my office window:

- A kid walking backwards;

- A near miss of a bunny rabbit crossing Dodge Street;

- An irate person attempting to key another person’s car; and

- A pack of turkeys stopping rush-hour traffic.

Finally, the last voyeuristic type of activity, I partake in is my social media perusal. Social media voyeurs like me; however, are harder to detect. No one has any idea we have visited his or her Facebook page. We don’t leave comments but know of your recent activities and pictures. Recently, I had a very awkward moment while talking with a Facebook friend. He knowingly talked about everything I’ve posted even though he had never-ever hit 'Like' or commented on any of my status updates or pictures. I know this has happened to some of you. This occurrence, ultimately caused today's voyeur intervention, and is why we collectively decided on this challenge.

So, population-we™ staffers are taking a page from Jimmy Kimmel's Nov. 17 Facebook Challenge. Instead of unfriending people, we invite people to take the population-we™ Facebook Voyeur Challenge. After all it is called Social Networking. So, if you’re up for the challenge make an attempt from here after in social media to engage and befriend your fellow person. If visiting a friend’s Facebook page try to leave a comment or at least 'Like' a picture or post. Also, if on a blog leave a comment. Let them know you care because after all -- it’s not about me it’s about us and we -- even in the virtual world.

- population-we™ blog post by Becky Bohan Brown
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