I hate social networking sites... (A seasonal message from Thomas Jefferson)

I know, forums are a type of social networking -- other than the general anonymity of the endeavor which negates much of the "networking" and emphasizes the "social".

Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, MySpace... I hate them all. In today's society that makes you an anti-social dud, who clearly doesn't have the technical and charismatic prowess to accumulate a mass of "friends" and "followers" and "recommendations". To me, it is an odd Web 2.0 (a term I hate, since we're on the subject of hate) social status game that I don't want to play.

I know, I know, I am a surly curmudgeon for not wanting to stay permanently connected to old high school and college friends as well as family members who I don't even really want to see at the holidays. God forbid I like a little privacy...

And on that note, and in the spirit of the holidays, I say:

Bah Humbug.

 

I agree with you, mostly. Until a few months ago, I had refused to participate in/on any of them. The issue with this stance, though, is that so many people are beginning to utilize facebook, twitter, etc. as their primary means of communication. I received a phone call several months ago that my uncle had suffered a heart attack and was in the hospital. The caller saw the info on facebook; this at first struck me as insane. Upon further reflection, though, I had to conclude that my cousin had disseminated the info in the most efficient and expansive means available to her. He's doing great now, by the way.

A couple of days after that, I created my facebook page. I find it amusing that so many people use social networking sites as another extension of their ego, and weigh their relative importance by the number of friends they can gather. This seems to be the primary source of your irritation, and I concur 100%. Farmville can kiss my ass.

But, now that I'm on the grid, I do have to say that it is an efficient method of communication. And as long as I use discretion in selecting my "friends," I have found the sense of connection to be somewhat nice at times.

Just as in this forum, the company of like-minded or stimulating company can be refreshing.

 

By the way, have you seen the new Christmas Carol with Jim Carrey? It's surprisingly enjoyable.

:hijacked:

 

I am right there with you - I do not use or understand social networking sites. Do I really care that someone "twittered", or what ever the term is, that they when to the store to buy milk? I have often wondered what is sadder - the person that reads someones elses site to see what they are doing OR the person that posts this stuff thinking others care. Why do people feel inclined to share every detail of their life on Facebook? I like privacy and people do not need to know every move I make!

On the other hand I see this site as "informational and helpful" for the most part.

 

I'm wondering if this is a generational gap. Can somebody start a survey and see which age group has the least opinion of social network. I concur that sites that are "informational and helpful" are great. I think people who feel inclined to share every detail of their life on Facebook are either lonely or looking for 15 seconds fame. But please don't hold me to this opinion.

 

I'll tell you what I hate, electric starters in cars. Why back in my day a hand crank was just as good and more reliable. Plus we got such a workout we never needed to pay to go to a gym to get a pump on like all these whipper-snappers.

I also hate cell phones. A pay phone was good enough and I didn't have to carry it around with me all day, getting exposed to radiation and whatnot. Plus sharing a phone with thousands of unknown strangers was a solid boost to my immune system, unlike these candy butted sissys we have for kids today who get a sniffle every time the wind blows.

While we're on the subject, I hate elastic. That's right elastic, like in my underwear. Why when men were men and goats were goats we used twine to hold up our underwear assuming we even needed to protect our nether regions.

I also hate electricity. What's wrong with candles and a fireplace?

While we're at it I hate computers...what with all the glowing screens and clickety clicking of the keyboard. They don't accomplish one dag-nabbed thing that a pencil, a little piece of paper and a pigeon couldn't do. Email, schmeemail, back the day a signature was actually a signature and not some mamby, pamby digital signature thingamabob dreamt up by a pot smoking, ex-hippy lawyer. If we needed an instant message we used smoke signals.

And what's with all these bound papery things called books? Why scrolls have served mankind for hundreds of years until some smart alek, upstart, know it all decided to ruin them by slicing them up and binding them together. A scroll used to be regal looking and a status symbol, but any idiot can carry around a book.

Speaking of books I hate typed print. If it's worth saying it's worth writing down by hand. It was good enough Rome, it was good enough for Greece and by God it's good enough for the good ol' USA.

And what's with Hawaii? Did we really need to add that state? I mean really...it's in the middle of the dang blamed ocean, nobody can get to it by car and they're not even close to the mainland. At least you can theoretically walk to Alaska, who ever heard of walking to an island?

(note the sarcasm)

 

This one is by far my favorite. Anyway, point well taken. I am not opposed to technology just the way some people use it or rely on it. Again, just my opinion and subject to change over the years.

 

friendorfoe just tweeted: "gawd, degreeinfo.com chumps can suck it. Facebook rulz"

then a few minutes later:

"Frosted flakes wit choco milk FTW!!!!!!"

Then he "liked" the Frosted Flakes group on Facebook and updated his status to "just finished breakfast, yum"

 

I am not anti-technology either, I build web sites, I program and script -- and how anti-technology can you really be if you take online classes?

Facebook as a medium is neutral and as emissary said, it can have some valid uses. The culture that has grown out of Facebook is what is obnoxious. It is vacuous and juvenile just like MySpace was. If I spend more than 10 minutes on Facebook I want to eat my own eyeballs.

There's surely going to be something in the future that evolves beyond Facebook and maybe a cultural renaissance to follow? (I'm not holding my breath).

 

I find Facebook very helpful for keeping in touch with my family when I am on the road for work.

 

That is a great point and great application for it. Personally, I just don't like Facebook or the idea of sharing stuff with the world. Again, not right or wrong - it is just my opinion.

 

I'm glad a couple of you got a giggle or two out of my post. Anyhow I primarily use Facebook to keep up with my buddies (real life friends) and my family. I have a small group of friends and I know all of them personally, except for maybe that Steve Foerster character. Since there are about 9 billion things going on at any given time with all these people it's nice to know whos birthday it is and when, what's going on this weekend, etc.

At work I use a very similar tool called Lotus Connections (which I'm sure most of you have heard of). Although not necassarily great for actual project software, as a collaboration tool for geographically spread out teams it works pretty well and is most certainly Web 2.0 (sorry thomas_jefferson).

As for Twitter, I tried it and don't really have much use for it but I don't want to "eat my own eyeballs" when I see it. It's just boring to me.

And I do like Frosted Flakes, maybe I should "like" it on Facebook and join that group you were talking about but first I have to clear it with my Technical Curmudgeons and Jaded Oldheads group.

By the way my Facebook status today was though provoking and brilliant. It was "Trust me, you're gonna' want more cowbell" (and let's face it, who doesn't want more cowbell?)

 

Frosted Flakes are probably safer to eat than your own eyeballs.

I've had a second thought on this conversation. I don't think that Facebook is actually a neutral medium. I think its structure reflects the waning attention span of the world. Everything is abbreviated and mostly empty. The touching base, keeping up on people thing, ... okay, I get it but somehow I think you could know more about someone by having an occasional nice long phone conversation or exchanging quality e-mails or even having a coffee together. But no one has time for stuff like that anymore it seems...

Andy Ostroy: I Hate Facebook

 

I have a hunch that you don't spend a lot of time traveling to remote places where long phone calls and lots of e-mail time aren't always possible.

 

For some reason I don't do long phone conversations. I did when I was 16 and talking to my girlfriend always hoping for those three little magical words "I want you" but alas, since puberty the phone holds no allure of forbidden promises. Hanging out with friends I do a lot of, in fact we use Facebook to coordinate where and when.

 

Facebook is just another form of communication.

 

Well, that settles everything then.

 

Hey, whatever works for you. I'm not trying to make this personal, just observing some of the social trends...

 

I doubt it's a generational thing. Though Facebook was originally founded with the intent of limiting it to college students, now the fastest growing group of Facebook users are adults 55 and older. Although, try as I might, I can't get my mom to get a Facebook page... she just insists on me logging into my account so she can see what everyone is up to.

-Matt