For readers of the Daily Courier in Prescott, Arizona. Comment and discuss. Be nice, now.
Muggs archive
Friday, February 18, 2011
I'm not on Facebook
6 comments:
I encourage you to share your own views and experience with me and other readers. How you do that matters, and I'm committed to maintaining a place where readers and commenters can feel safe from adolescent BS. So here's the deal:
There are two kinds of anonymous comments: those by people who have a genuine fear of revenge from the dark side, and those from darksiders just hiding to avoid accountability. You may post comments anonymously, but I reserve the right to treat anonymous comments as found items that belong to me and do with them as I see fit.
If, on the other hand, you're willing to stand by your convictions and post under your own name or a regular handle, your comments belong to you, and I'll edit them only on egregious violations of respect for others.
If this doesn't work for you, I'm sure you'll be happier somewhere else.
Never underestimate the human capacity for narcissism! Forbes recently ran a piece about three guys who launched a site described as a "Facebook for the dead." That got my attention since that's what I've always said I'd have to be (dead) before anyone found me on one of these sites.
ReplyDeletepieinearI was encouraged by some friends and family to start a Facebook page. I did, and that was the last thing I did with facebook. What an intrusive instrument. It contacted everybody in my address book letting them know I was on Facebook. They were already in my address book, I could send them an e-mail any time I wanted. I guess it is just convenient for some people, but, I already had my own network set up. So, I may be an old fart so I'll communicate the old fashioned way, by e-mail.
ReplyDeleteMy first response when the subject of FB or Twitter or another online network entity comes up in conversation is that can be a colossal waste of time. That being said, I confess, guiltily, that yes, I have a FB account. It was curiosity at first. Then I found myself getting in touch with people that I hadn't seen or heard from in decades. Most of that was positive. Most notably was friend from high school and his wife, both of whom I was close to 30+ years ago. We lost touch shortly after graduating because of military service and general moving around. We got to talk on the phone a few times after the initial contact and even though we were a few thousand miles away, I believe I was able to help him through a few tough weeks after his wife had heart surgery. About six weeks after we first got in touch, he was dead from an auto accident. I'm glad that there were at least those few weeks of connection.
ReplyDeleteI know that the creators of FB aren't doing it out of the goodness of their hearts. I do have concerns about the accessibility of personal information by less than scrupulous people out there. My biggest disappointment with FB is that I envisioned more personal exchanges with friends and family long lost. But that's not really FB's fault is it? I'd say about 80% of the people that I've reconnected with "communicate" or stay in touch by playing the games like Farmville, Happy Aquarium or God knows what else, and then sending out notices of their "accomplishments". I don't know how many times that I've resisted the urge to send out a reply saying that I don't give a rat's petootie about your Superpokes, snowball fights or the load of manure you got for your farm. But like regular society, one must use discretion. So, in essence, it's a love/hate relationship. Online networks could be better, but could be worse. I guess it's what you put into it.
I have done a couple of pro bono (no charge) introductions to Social Media in the last couple of years. I normally start with this YouTube video:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFZ0z5Fm-Ng
I encourage you to watch it. Social Media is a true paradigm shift and the numbers are staggering. It is growing exponentially, not mathematically. Facebook has over 600 million followers and is valued at more than $50-billion (more than Google). As always, it is a personal choice if you participate or not; however, I always advocate informed decision making.
Thanks for the tip, launchpad. The video confirms that my non-involvement is right for me -- I found it creepy, and I notice it's all about business finding consumers.
ReplyDeleteSame here launchpad. Thanks for the video, but I still don't get the "why" part. I'm not seeing the void that this fills, or how it enriches or simplifies our lives. Your reference to "600 million followers" is undoubtedly accurate, but to borrow Steven's word, creepy. Really creepy. And I'm always a little concerned when ANY company gets that powerful.
ReplyDelete