would post photos from the
event on Facebook," he said.
Some people have even
felt coerced to join Facebook
because there was no other form
of communication leading up to
their reunion. That was the case
for John Kuderik, a CPA in Royal
Oak, who was told that if he
didn't join Facebook he wouldn't
know anything about the plans
for his reunion. He's now con-
nected to the classmates he
hadn't seen or heard from in
over two decades, and he's kept
updated on their daily activities.
But he's not convinced that's
such a great
thing.
Brad
Feldman of
Farmington
Hills, who
recently
attended his
20th Groves
Feldman
High School
reunion, said that Facebook was
a much-discussed theme at the
event. References to photos and
other postings became topics of
conversation at the reunion, and
classmates posted photos from
the reunion in the days follow-
ing. He believes that Facebook
activity might have kept some
of his classmates, especially the
out-of-towners, from attending
since they felt they were already
sufficiently updated on their
classmates' lives.
Facebook has had both posi-
tive and negative effects on the
high school reunion. Some
younger people believe some of
the excitement and nostalgia
is gone from reunions because
of all the reconnecting through
social networking sites. Overall,
however, Facebook has been
helpful to reunion planners as
a resource for promoting the
event and locating classmates.
While Facebook is the killer
app of our generation, no social
networking website can replace
the human interaction of a
reunion. The face-to-face recon-
nections are the best form of
social networking that exists. 1

Rabbi Jason Miller is a tech expert

who writes about how information

technology and social media are

transforming the Jewish commu-

nity. He writes the 'Jewish Techs"

ESTATE 8c JEWELRY BUYERS

Your neighborhood experts

for the

Purchase and Sale of

Estate Jewelry, Precious Metals,

Coins and Valuables

Phone: 248.723.4653
33366 Woodward Avenue
Birmingham, MI 48009

(Just north of Fourteen Mile, east side of Woodward)

blog for the NY Jewish Week and

is president of Access Computer

Technology (www.accesscomptech.

www.estateandjewelrybuyers.com

corn), based in West Bloomfield.

August 18 2031

17