Friday, January 28, 2011

Why i hate Facebook. Edited

1. It took people away from blogging. 

2. I have friended people i would never in my life have lunch with. ONLY because i was afraid of offending people. 

3. This bothers me too because usually i am not worried about offending people that much.

4. I do NOT ever want to hear about these things on Facebook, yet people always seem to talk about:
* their sniffles and sore throats
*their kids sniffles and sore throats
*the person who works next to them who have sniffles and sore throats who might make them sick
*their cancer. Really do we need to talk about such seriousness on something as banal as a social network?
*anyone in their family who died. Again, too serious of a topic IMO.
*union stuff. over and over and over. (because of my work 'friends') I work for school unions. I do not want to read about all of this stuff right now on Facebook too, because i already get it at work, especially since unions are so vilified and the root of all the economic problems.(Disclaimer: I do NOT agree with this, i'm just saying what i'm reading. It pisses me off. But that's another post.)

5. I looked at Facebook way too much when it was easy to click in. Once i logged myself out and had to type a password to get in it was easy to leave it alone.

6. I have only checked it now about 3 times in the past 4 days. (I did not deactivate it.) Disclaimer: I just logged in Saturday to load a video of Eddie Vedder and Johnny Depp performing together. Watching Vedder and Depp on a stage together is porn to me. (Check it out if you have Facebook. They are doing "Society" from the "Into the Wild" movie.)

7. You see, I am too lazy to even type in a few letters to get to it. That's how much Facebook doesn't inspire me. 

8. I know my blog might not inspire others either. But i like that if it does, it attracts folks who might have more to say than the stuff that i just mentioned in #4. And thank you all for that who post. 

9. I got curious about how many other people post about hating Facebook and it turns out that quite a lot of the cyber population have similar posts:  here's a quote by Andy Ostroy that i thought was funny: (He posted this on Huffington Post.)
I think I've figured out Facebook's major appeal. It offers uber-narcissists an opportunity to have their proverbial 15 minutes every five fucking minutes!. The site is overcrowded with attention-starved grown-ups essentially screaming "look at me... look at me!" all day long. They change their profile photos as often as I change my underwear, and they've somehow convinced themselves that their lives are infinitely interesting all the time. The "audience factor" is just way too attractive to these folks. It's drunken karaoke without the booze and the bad singing, but with all the requisite self-indulgence.
 10. In regards to the quote above, I would like to point out to all that equeyaya and I never change our Facebook photo. In face we've both had the same one since last July. (Photos that happen to be taken on our trip together on Vashon Island.)

23 comments:

louielouie said...

. . . especially since unions are so vilified and the root of all the economic problems. . .

Really??!!


But i won't talk about unions 'cause Jo said, I'm just glad to see a new post.

I't a good think I never had Facebook.

I would post:

1. clever things my kids said/did

2. links to cute and/or inspirational posters and sayings, like that kitten on the branch who encourages me to "hang in there" or crappy quotes from Steven Covey

3. a bookmark to that Maxine comic about becoming an old lady

4. original poetry

5. a chronological account of my exercise/weight loss program; or more likely why I'm not involved in such a program

6. photos of my cat; once I remember to take any pictures and after I master uploading them from my camera

7. long descriptions of my latest craft project. Jo are you working on that quilt/pillow for your brother? If I were on Facebook we could use your wall to arrange a time to get together and sew - is that what you use a wall for?


8. some ongoing rant about the weather, bad service, our loss of humanity, why everyone doesn't agree with me . . . Maybe I'll settle on one topic. Maybe I won't

9. unabashed Proselytizing

10. minute details about my foot surgery and recovery

I would not proof read or edit anything and would use mostly texting abbreviations that I made up myself

louielouie said...

Oh yeah, and I would repeat my self again and again

louielouie said...

and again and again

jojo cucina cucina said...

louie, you are so funny. You haven't even seen Facebook and yet you described it perfectly.

I don't mind clever sayings by kids. I hate hearing about their snot and coughs.

I won't delete your original poetry if you want to put it up here on my blog.

I will, however, delete photos of your cat. Not that you can even include a photo in a comment. You know how i get creeped out by cats.

amulbunny's random thoughts said...

Why I like Facebook:

1. My relatives actually post news about their families which I would never know since we don't talk except at funerals.
2. I've caught up with people I knew and liked in grammar school.
3. I post pictures of my Dog. I love my Dog, as neurotic as he is.
4. I can't be witty and verbose all the time so I don't post on my blog as often as I should, but on FB I send out notes.
5. I can keep up with people who are ill ( Lynn Vandervere-Solis has lung cancer, Sharon, Mersea, Zenia, all were dx'ed with BC this year) and tell them I care.
6. Weather forecasts and complaints from all over the place.
7. I can post You Tube videos of bands I like.
8. I can find out things about my kids.
9. I can tease people about football picks.
10. It's there and it's easy.

Unknown said...

I love to post videos and share stuff with people. I don't talk about being sick..I rarely am anyway.

I do post pics of my dog. Lots of them. But she is really cute.

jojo cucina cucina said...

Dogs are okay. (Amanda and Kylee/ms hippie post photos of their dogs often and they are cute. So dogs are okay.

Cats are not!

jojo cucina cucina said...

amulbunny, i do like the posting of the bands. As least the bands i like. But i also go YouTubing quite often too.

equeyaya said...

I want to be louie's facebook friend!!!

I like posting photos, stalking my kids, sharing youtubes - sometimes we have music nights and a bunch of us post a bunch of hokie oldies and laugh.

I don't like how insidious it is and that I'm always feeling compelled to look in on it. One of the ya-ya's described it as being bored and going to the refrigerator, seeing nothing there, and going back in ten minutes and checking it again, hahahaha!!

So I'm trying to go there less. Trying.

What I'm really liking now is twitter. I follow a bunch of web sites and they just post links to their highlights there. So it's like a summary of news, but just the news that I'm interested in. I'm following people like Ryan Montbleau and the Dalai Llama. Oh and wine sites, horse sites, travel sites and LOL cats. And some stuff for my job.

jojo cucina cucina said...

eque. That's a great comparison that yaya came up with!

Unknown said...

Twitter is a great tool when you have something important going on that affects you community. When we had the ice storm two weeks ago, I got much quicker and precise updates from Twitter than any of the news sources. The police and fire department tweeted which roads were safe and which ones were closed.

equeyaya said...

oh, that's cool, susie! i'll have to see if our local municipal folks are on there.

lol, jo! i have no intention of changing my profile pic. it's my favorite picture of myself, ever! but i do agree with the huffington guy about narcissism.

my friend's daughter posted lyrics to a train song and i commented that it was a good song. she DELETED her post and reposted it, i can only assume that she was embarassed by her friend's mother agreeing with her about a song. omg. ok, i can take a hint. then there are the ones that want you to tag them and don't want you to tag them.

i definitely agree it's time to scale back.

sam said...

jojo, I think you and I are fb friends, right? I don't post much and what I've been posting lately is for MY benefit.

I did mention that my aunt died this past week.

We don't get sick and if we did I probably wouldn't tell anyone anyway.

My cats won't let me take a picture of them so I haven't posted any. My dogs are sort of camera-phobic, too. I did post a couple pictures of them when Hans came to live with us last month.

I don't have much of an opinion about unions. Some seem to work well for their members, others not so much.

Don't tell anyone but lately I'm using fb to stalk a couple people who frequently post non-sensical stuff. And I challenge them on it. Right out there where they typed for all their other followers to see. They didn't use to answer me but now I think they're feeling the pin pricks.

Maybe I should repent, eh?

I've been thinking about getting away from all the social networking sites I go to. All three of them. Even the support board.

I AM disciplined. I am not distracted. And that's what happens when fb gets opened up on my computer.

P. S. If you ever get any game stuff from me, it's not from me. It's from Miss Emmy Lou Who. I won't let her have her own account so she plays games on my account. I apologize for that.

jojo cucina cucina said...

1, I don't think i can Twitter. Ask anyone who gets emails from me. Maybe if it wasn't such a super fast typist. But i am. I've been a secretary all my career.

2. But i love the idea of updates. In a nuclear war, would Twitter work?

3. eque, i like that Facebook profile photo of you, also because i liked that night. We had some good wine that day/night while taking those photos. it was a great girl night conversation time.

4. Ok, that is really weird and bitchy of your daughter (Grace's?) friend to repost a Train comment simply because you posted on it. My nieces would not do that to me (or you) and i doubt very seriously you daughters would do that either. I would ask Grace/Mel? what's up.

5. It's weird how easy it is to beat a Facebook habit. Just logging out makes it easier.

6. I guess that just speaks to how lazy i am. That i am unwilling to take the time to log my email and password to get there.

7. T-sam/donna, yes we are friends. You are probably like me, i mostly check my wall and not folks' profile pages so i forget who are friends.

8. LOL... re: Emmy Lou's games stuff.

jojo cucina cucina said...

HEY!!!!!!!!!!!! i would like to welcome a new follower here. I just now noticed the number jumped to 25. It's been 24 for the longest time. I check the stats on here from time to time by setting parameters that don't count my views and i can see that it is viewed much more than people post. I wish more people jumped in.

so welcome Jamie Freed Bailey. Welcome to the blog! I hope you post because i would love to know how you found this blog.

Jennifer said...

I’m terrible about responding to blog posts. I have a love/hate relationship with Facebook. I think it’s pretty much what you make it, like anything. I love that I can keep up with and have reconnected with old friends and family that I rarely see. I had coffee with a former colleague in D. C. a few months ago. He lives in Louisiana and I live in Texas, but because of our posts on Facebook, we knew we were in D. C. at the same time. Turned out, we were within a few blogs of each other and his hangout was right next door to my work. I have a first cousin in Alabama who was in the area on business. If not for Facebook, it’s possible we would not have met for dinner when she was here. We had a great time.

But like Barbara, I have also replied to posted of some of the “youngsters” on my friends lists and either killed the responses or seen that they deleted the post. I also don’t quite get those who feel the need to post about every little thing throughout the day.

And it can be a time-sucker.

I think blogging, Facebook, and Twitter serve different purposes. Never quit blogging, JoJo. You are GREAT at it. And if it takes moving away from Facebook to do it, so be it. Facebook suits my needs most, as I have little to say, and have somewhat voyeur tendencies, so I like to see what others are doing more than saying anything about myself, and it’s one stop place to do it. I don’t get Twitter at all, except for getting info on news-making events as they happen. I rarely check in there.

And that’s it from me!

louielouie said...

I am home from work today SICK

I was sure you wanted to hear all about it - LOL

Actually, both ron and I are sick, think it was something we ate Monday night.

Of course, he is waaaaaay sicker than I am, just ask him
wah-wah

sam said...

It was me. I posted your blog link for people who used to love your writings on the now defunct Gumbo. I have since removed the link but if anyone asks me directly I will give it to them (unless you ask me not to). I think your writings should be shared with a broader audience because your opinions are so well thought out (even when I don't agree with them, lol).

equeyaya said...

Jamie is a ya-ya... but I can't remember her ya-ya name at the moment. Good to see you, Jamie!!

Well said, Jennifer about the pros and cons of facebook.

Today something kind of cool happened on Twitter. Our local newspaper posted about a bank robbery in progress, and then continued to post as it unfolded and the police were hunting down the suspects. Last time I checked they had caught one of them.

And Ryan Montbleau posts funny things there. I love Ryan Montbleau.

Hope you feel better, louie! Keep us "posted," on all the gory details of your illness!

jojo cucina cucina said...

Jennifer, first of all, thank you for your comment about my blogging ability. That actually makes me feel good. and you are right about Facebook's good qualities. Because there are many reasons that it works good. I am thinking a Twitter account might be fun for updates. Only i know i would never, myself, be able to post a comment within the number of characters it limits.

Examples of funny Twitters:

"Bad sign on a flight. When the attendant asks over the intercom, "Is there a mechanic on the plane?"

"Everyone's fine with babies being entertained by keys, but let one baby drive a Porsche and suddenly I'm a horrible uncle." - stephen colbert

Can we go back to what using Facebook for what it was originally for - looking up exes to see how fat they got." -- Bill Maher.

I think the first one is Dane Cook, but i'm not sure.

Louie, if you had Facebook, you could tell us ALL about how sick you are and you would get many empathetic comments. Husbands need more attention than wives, that's why they get sicker. Or pretend to.

Sam, thanks for taking this blog address off the yaya group. I never posted this address on my own Facebook because i don't want my whole family and all of my work buddies to venture over here.

I while I don't mind expanding it and really want to, i do want to control it somewhat. I since i have chosen not to be a part of the yaya group i won't know who's there and won't have access to who might be the victim-like needy yaya who used to post on Gumbo. All of use who were yayas know that there were some people there who made us crazy. I do not want them here. And I never want to be put in a position to block someone.

But Donna, i know that you would be able to filter that if someone asked so i'm not worried if you tell someone, i just didn't want it so public. I hope that doesn't make me sound like a bitch.

jojo cucina cucina said...

Dammit i wish i had an editing option. This wouldn't happen if i was drinking wine.

louielouie said...

Illness update:

I am now eating my second dry English muffin so am on the mend!!

I watched about ten NCIS episodes, interrupted only by Ellen, in my pjs and flannel throw.

Still think I might stay home again tomorrow, when I could actually enjoy my p'jammas and tv.

Trouble is, ron already decided to stay home ('cause he's sooooooo much sicker) and I don't want to spend my day bringing him 7-up.

I could never be a nurse. . . don't have the TLC-gene

Modern Hippie said...

i always come in to late. i cant blog anymore, blogger pisses me off, facebook never pisses me off. thats why i love it more.

butttt i do want to say thanks for it being okay that I post pictures of my dog, because he is really awesome, as he lays on my foot right now. i love chloe too but she got a creepy haircut and looks like a cat LOL