Fakebook (34 page)

It's hard to even know where to begin thanking people for all their efforts in this unplanned experiment in social media storytelling.

This book truly is a social story. In many ways, this is a story about my relationship with my community, and my community had a starring role. It wasn't just the knowing collaborators who turned Fakebook from an idle thought into a strange adventure, but also everyone who didn't know this was a hoax. Anyone who read the page, left a comment, or simply gossiped about “what's going on with Dave” made Fakebook what it is.

Thank you, Ted Kaiser, Steve Cucinelli, Joe Moscone, Elizabeth Lee, Matt Campbell, Elliott Askew, Kate Moulton, Jeff Shaw, Matt Riggio, Rolando Alvarado, Suzanne Pagliorola, Alula Medhen, Christine Reardon, Chris Bailey, Joe Lennon, and everyone else whose contributions are visible both on my wall and in the pages of this book.

But where the fake story ended is where the real work began. There were countless people who made this book possible.

My father, Ralph, gets a lot of deserving attention in this book, but none of it would be possible without the enthusiasm and support of my entire family. So thank you, Ralph, Mark, Jeff, Lisa, Elisha, and especially my mother, Phyllis. She was an invaluable sounding board as I wrote and a patient set of ears when I was feeling overwhelmed.

I'd also like to thank the entire Sourcebooks team—in particular my two editors, Peter Lynch and Stephanie Bowen.

Peter, my original editor, first purchased
Fakebook
. His enthusiasm helped me believe in my own crazy idea.

I cannot thank my editor Stephanie Bowen enough for joining this project mid-stride and never skipping a beat. Upon meeting her, it was immediately clear that she understood what I hoped to accomplish, and together we worked toward it. This book is better because she became a part of it.

In addition: With a book requiring as many production logistics as this, pulling
Fakebook
off would have been almost impossible without the patient organizational efforts of Heather Hall, Chris Norton, Jenna Skwarek, and Abby Saul.

And of course there is my agent, Stephen Barr. He saw the potential in
Fakebook
as a story and me as an author. More than anyone else, this book exists because he believed I could write it. I truly cannot thank him enough.

None of this would have happened if not for Maya Rock, who thought enough of
Fakebook
to put me on Stephen's radar. Or Mariko Nagataki, who was the “friend” when Maya and I were just friends of friends. Or Brian Morrison, who got me to join the coed hipster hockey league where Mariko and I met. And on and on backward through the many crazy interlocking and complicated webs of personal and professional connections that make up the social network of humanity—going all the way back to when Adam first met Eve.

Dave Cicirelli is a New York–based writer and art director with extensive experience serving iconic consumer and entertainment brands across all print, digital, and experiential media. His work has won a number of awards, including a Silver Anvil and honors from
HOW
magazine,
GDUSA
, and
Creativity
38.

In the eight years he's been in the marketing industry, he's witnessed the impact social media has had on how brands talk to consumers. In the sixteen years since he got an AOL screen name, he's witnessed the impact social media has had on how people talk to one another.

Fakebook
is his first book, and that's why there are so many pictures in it.

Photo Credit: Stephen Papageorge