Sunday, January 3, 2010

Facing Facebook

Perhaps I'm missing something, or maybe I am simply a product of my generation, but I still don’t see what the attraction is to Facebook. The confusion stated when it was suggested to me that I have a Facebook presence to help promote my film. However, Facebook tells you right up front that it is not to be used for “commercial purposes”. What then?

Upon opening my Facebook account, I immediately began receiving requests from people to be my “friend”. Not wanting to appear rude, I accepted friendship. Of my now several hundred some odd friends, I can count on one hand the friends who I actually and personally know. The rest I believe should be characterized as “acquaintances” or perhaps “contacts”. I have a completely different definition of what I consider a friend. As one comedian recently put it… “A friend is someone who you can phone at midnight to pick you up at the airport”.

I did brifly connect with my sixth grade girl friend, well actually it was more of a crush I had on her back then. But she soon abandoned her Facebook page; apparently some guy she was dating now started stalking her. Well, so much for that.

I don’t get the “applications”, they seem nonsensical to me… and why do they end up wanting my cell phone number so often? (I don’t give that out to anyone but real Friends). Now advertising is weaseling its way into Facebook. I already have a strong opinion about advertising and how it is ruining the internet like it already has ruined TV. I am having enough trouble figuring out what is going on here without dealing with “Click Me Now” come-ons.

I am no Luddite by any means; I blog, construct web sites, and conduct a lot of business online. I don’t care to use Instant Messengers because I don’t feel the need to be “connected” every second simply because I’m awake.

Facebook appears to have little to offer me and I don’t really have any thing useful to contribute to anyone else by my being here. I am wondering if my Facebook page went bye bye if anyone would really notice.

5 comments:

Charlie said...

I tried Face Book for about 3 days last year and then cleared out of Dodge. I had no idea what it was for or what it did. I checked all 400 privacy checkboxes, but people found me anyway.

We're not Luddites, Robert, but I do think we're falling behind the times.

Robert the Skeptic said...

Charlie Yes, and I have this nagging feeling that I am going to be forced into needing an i-Phone in the near future.

Charlie said...

What the hell for? If you're like me, you'll never figure out how to use it—especially for making phone calls, which only spammers do nowadays.

Save your meagre $$ and use either (1) a megaphone, (2) Morse code, or (3) smoke signals.

kara said...

everything you've said about facebook, i would turn around and point it back to SECOND LIFE.

BLOGitse said...

I agree with you!
Been there, done that.
Why all those gossip sick people should know everything?
Happened to me.
I came back from Helsinki to Cairo and at the Helsinki airport I met my ex co-worker (but didn't KNOW her that well). We talked about this and that and suddenly she said: yes, I know, (about my breast cancer operation) in Facebook we tell and hear all the gossips.
Nice.
Interesting is that only couple of people who knew about my operation should be my friends...
Real friends shouldn't tell that personal things online, right?
Facebook is no-no for me!