A New York Times columnist last week wrote that Facebook was almost dead after a user "exodus." Just six months earlier, though, she wrote that Facebook showcased a "perfect" cultural vitality. And she cited the same source.

What happened to poor Julie Klam? Six months ago, the writer was "the best updater on Facebook," according to the Times' Viriginia Heffernan (pictured), excelling in a burgeoning genre of "perfect... spontaneous bursts of being." Klam was grateful for the value placed on her prolific Facebooking, but it seems her experience quickly went downhill; in a column published Wednesday, the same Klam was quoted by the same Heffernan as saying Facebook "felt dead" as of a few months ago — in other words, right after she "friended" Heffernan on the social network. "I have noticed the exodus, and I kind of feel like it's kids getting tired of a new toy."

The moral of the story: Journalists cannot be bothered to find fresh sources in the dog days of August for their specious (the New York Observer debunked it by the numbers earlier today) trend stories. Also: Under no circumstances should you "friend" Virginia Heffernan.

(Pic via)