How A FB 'Poke' Became The Reason Behind Two Strangers' Marriage Proposal At The FB HQ
Who knew a Facebook poke could be so effective?
By Sadho Ram — 08 Jul 2014, 07:34 AM — Updated about 10 years ago
The poke is one of Facebook's most-cryptic features, but for Steve Kawalit and Nafis Joon, a simple poke seven years ago was the catalyst for their recent engagement
It's a love story for the social media generation:
He pushes the poke button in 2007, giving her a digital nudge to convey his existence. She responds and they mingle online.
They meet in person for the first time over coffee in Toronto, Canada, where they both live.
go.comFlash-forward to 2014 and the two are madly in love. They just won a contest to tour Facebook headquarters — or so she thinks.
They arrive at the company's campus in Menlo Park, California, last Monday, June 23. He knows he's going to propose to her. She has no clue.
mashable.com
And so begins the tour, one he orchestrated with Facebook so he could pull off the surprise marriage proposal. They pose for photos. A photographer tells her to turn around.
Steve Kawalit, 32, proposes to Nafis Joon, 31, at Facebook headquarters in Menlo Park, California, on June 23.
Image via mshcdn.comShe gasps loudly, seeing a big screen emblazoned with, "Nafis, will you marry me?"
"Of course! Aw, yeah," she replies after he gets on his knees, looks up and pops the question, adding: "People ask us how we met, we say 'mutual friends' and today you meet your mutual friends," Kawalit said while on one knee, pointing to the strangers around him.
ubergizmo.com
Soon, out of nowhere and to their amazement, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and COO Sheryl Sandberg sneak up on the couple to congratulate them
"It's like a dream," Kawalit told Mashable on Thursday. "To think that a 2004 project in a Harvard dorm room would have such a large impact on our lives is crazy. Facebook is essential to our story so I thought it was only fitting that we open a new chapter of our lives with Mark and Sheryl's blessings."
mashable.com
Kawalit, a 32-year-old digital marketing manager, and Joon, a 31-year-old dentist, weren't always so open about telling friends and family they met on Facebook
During their mid-20s, the stigma of online dating was more intense than it is in today's world of dating apps.
"I don’t want to say offline-dating is a dying art, and I would hate to see that," Kawalit said, "but you can’t deny the hectic pace of life and our reliance on technology for the every day, including real world relationships. I feel like our story is becoming the norm. Facebook complemented our efforts to obtain a meaningful face-to-face relationship."