Anyone who knows me knows I’m a bit of a prankster. I like to flex my harmless, but mischievously creative muscles from time to time and April Fool’s Day is the perfect opportunity to do so where you don’t have to ask for forgiveness.

So…today I changed my Facebook profile to say my birthday (which is actually July 3) is today, April 1. Motives were pure. I work in digital marketing, which is something I’m very passionate about, and I wanted to think of a silly April Fool’s joke that I could also learn from for “work.” Research, you know? The results after about an hour of changing the date are after the jump. 

Anyway, I’m starting to feel guilty about the people who don’t know me well enough to know I’m full of crap. Such kind words. I mean, it actually feels kinda nice too on this gloomy Friday afternoon while I look out the window at the slushy snow, yes SNOW in April, coming down on New York City. By the way, props to Jessika for realizing, but not calling me out and to Nichelle and George for actually calling me out. Matt – almost, buddy! Your paranoia was warranted, but got the best of you!

So, here’s what I learned…which is more proof of a hypothesis I had in mind when changing my birthday to begin with (I wasn’t lying – research, remember?). Among many other things, we’ve come to rely on Facebook to help us stay organized when it comes to our relationships. Generally speaking, do people even remember birthdays or phone numbers anymore? Facebook even let’s you list your anniversary date with a significant other…so guys are completely off the hook now, which I’m sure they still manage to screw up anyway. Also, it’s sad that a Facebook wall post has become the norm for wishing someone a happy birthday. On one hand, it allows more people to wish you a happy birthday, but on the other, it’s become a beyond acceptable medium for those who might have otherwise, picked up the phone or sent you a card (or even an ecard). I’m guilty too!

Take it up a level to how much we rely on digital in general…like addresses. I don’t even look up where I’m going before I leave my apartment anymore. I pull up a map application on my phone as I’m heading out the door and trust that it will tell me exactly what subway to take, when to get off and what direction to walk. It hasn’t always steered me right, but for the most part, it gets me where I need to go.

What other things apply in terms of digital dependency?

To all of those I fooled today – please don’t feel like the 12 seconds you spent writing on my wall were in vain. You helped me learn something and prove a point. Plus, it’s been ages since my last post. Thank you for giving me inspiration. Also, Happy Birthday to Angie Hall and Hazel Grace, two beautiful Seattle friends who I miss terribly! Xoxo

P.S. I’m going to leave it as my birthday until later today to see how many people end up calling me out. Who knows, maybe some of my friends actually read my blog?

UPDATE (2:23 pm EDT): So, check out this Twitter direct-message convo I had with Peter Ha….the last person I thought would fall victim to my April Fool’s joke. After all, we celebrated our birthdays, which are a week apart in July, together last summer. Dude…you made my fake birthday!

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