Is anyone else NOT on Facebok other than me?

[Jngrbrdman]

I realize it is a great way to promote businesses and all that fun stuff, but I don`t have a need for that. That`s what real websites are for. And as far as keeping up with family and friends, I like doing that the old fashioned way. Ignoring them altogether. ;) Actually, you can`t even call it a `social` network. It is more like an `anti-social` network. If I can see what my brother in Connecticut is doing without needing to call him or anything like that, then what is social about it? I can just stalk him without ever calling. I don`t like that.



The other thing I don`t like is that it is guaranteed to happen that someone is going to post something on my wall that my mother would end up reading. Not acceptable. Or worse, my wife would read it. lol Maybe I`m just odd, but my personal life is called `personal` for a reason. I don`t like having my personal life become my public life because someone decides to post some retarded comment that my potential employers, business associates, and family gets to see.



I just don`t see any other point in it. I`ve kept in touch with anyone I`ve ever wanted to speak to again. I went to a very very small High School (graduating class of 50 kids) and there isn`t one of them I care about knowing what they are doing with their lives now. I didn`t get along with them 18 years ago and I`m pretty sure I won`t get along with them now. And yet with all of these really good reasons not to be on Facebook, I still get weird looks when I tell people they will have to send me an email instead of just looking me up and `Facebooking` me, whatever that means.



The really ironic thing is that for the past three years I`ve been working for a technology company that develops social media applications similar to Facebook and others. lol But I`ve got way more use for video conferencing and media hosting stuff than posting on a wall, so what we develop makes more sense. Still... One of these days I`m going to rejoice when Facebook isn`t the standard and you aren`t looked at as odd for not being on it. It`s not like I`m not on the internet at all. I`ve got a fairly large digital footprint without Facebook and 500 tweets a day. lol

[Dan]

Facebook isn`t about keeping up with people you already are social with. Its more about making lost connections and keeping up with people that you would normally not bother to stay in touch with.

[Bill D]

Jngrbrdman-- I totally agree with you. Anti-social. I pulled the plug on it some time ago. But yeah, it is an awfully popular business tool so I guess I wouldn`t rule it out for that purpose. I can totally relate about your high school experience. I say stick with your pals from real-life and on here, works for me.

[Jngrbrdman]

But Dan, if I wouldn`t normally stay in touch with them, then why would I care? Do they care about what I`m doing enough to look me up?



I think this is just the anti-social part of my personally coming out. I`ll be a really good grumpy old man someday sitting on my porch shouting at the kids who cross my lawn or something. lol I just wasn`t born with that `fly on a wall` need to see what people are doing without them knowing that I know. My wife certainly has that gene. It took her some time, but she finally realized she was wasting too much time on Facebook and told me to scramble her password and lock her out. So I unfriended all of her friends, turned off all notifications, changed her email address to an account I promptly deleted, and then scrambled her password which I had to cut and paste in order to type it twice. I`m pretty proud of her that she hasn`t looked back once and hasn`t missed knowing what is going on with people she hasn`t spoken to in twenty years anyway.

[Dan]

Why should you care? Because sometimes, you can get an "in" to something you normally might not have been able to. According to recent research, there are about 4.7 degrees of separation. Facebook can be leveraged as a tool to get places. It also cracks me up when I hear about people I know going to or getting out of jail.



I personally like it because I`ve moved all over the place and I can`t keep up with everyone I`ve left behind via traditional methods. But thanks to Facebook I stay in touch, see what`s happening with their life, as they do with mine. When I go back to visit, it narrows the gap, its not like we`ve been apart for years.



Again, its a tool, it can be used, abused or misused.

[dschribs]

I`m not on it. Simply doesn`t interest me. I can`t believe the way it has taken off. It still amazes me. The people I want to see I still see on a regular basis. We grab a beer occasionally, talk on the phone, meet at a diner for breakfast every other Sat morning, head to the casino for a half day trip etc etc. I don`t need an internet site to see what my friends are up to. I actually talk to them and ask them. Foreign concept these days I guess.



Great quote from Hot Tub Time Machine:



Adam: One little change has a ripple effect and it effects everything else. Like a butterfly floats its wings and Tokyo explodes or there’s a tsunami, in like, you know, somewhere.



Jacob: Yes exactly. You step on the bug and the F`ing internet is never invented.



Lou: Oh then you’ll actually have to talk to girls with your mouth.





My brother`s 30th high school reunion was scheduled for Thanksgiving weekend. Only about 50 people responded and that includes spouses. Most people said they weren`t going because they could still keep in touch with classmates on Facebook.



Very sad commentary as to how people live their social lives nowadays.




Its more about making lost connections and keeping up with people that you would normally not bother to stay in touch with.



Jngrbrdman has it right. If I wouldn`t normally want to stay in touch with them - then I don`t normally want to stay in touch with them. Period.

[Jngrbrdman]

But what happens when something embarrassing you did that someone captured on a cell phone and posted on Facebook gets back around to potential employers? Did you know that lawyers are currently, and have been using for some time, Facebook and other social media sites as evidence in trial? They use it to establish behavior patterns and character. Not to mention the amount of other personal information someone can get on you through Facebook if they were planning either a break-in to your house or other property. I should write a book about using Facebook as an accomplice to crime.



I realize that it is a great way for people to keep in touch, but the amount of privacy you give up by being on it is staggering. I guess if you are 100% honest and ethical 100% of the time and never do anything embarrassing that you`d rather the rest of the world not know about, then there are fewer concerns, but I really prefer the things I do in my off time not become a matter of public record to anyone looking me up online. As a paralegal I saw what kind of damage we could do to a case with this kind of thing. I saw a man lose custody of his children because of one act of irresponsibility and a dozen posts on Facebook admitting similar acts that he wasn`t caught doing.



But like you said, it can be used or it can be abused. It`s just a matter of knowing when you are addicted and can`t tear yourself away from it and then doing something about it. I see people checking it on their phones and just wonder what could possibly be so important in their relationship tracking that they have to be notified everytime someone updates their status or buys a chicken on Farmville.

[rdorman]

Not on it, never have been. But my entire family is on it... which is perhaps why I am not!

[Accumulator]

Heh heh, I`m no Luddite, but I only recently got an answering machine. And my cell phone only makes/takes calls. When people act like that`s strange I`ll often tweak them a bit with something like "eh, send me a letter" :chuckle:



On the subject of PERsonal SECurity, back when I first got on this forum a guy whom I respect was all :nono: about it, saying that "once you`re posting online, your PERSEC is [screwed]". Guess there are different degrees of concern.



I`m not on Facebook/etc., but Accumulatorette is. She meets/keeps in touch with a lot of people from all over (including overseas), mostly related to her family and her tutoring stuff. It seems very time-efficient for her, can`t imagine her keeping in touch with all those people via traditional means.

[Dan]

But what happens when something embarrassing you did that someone captured on a cell phone and posted on Facebook gets back around to potential employers? Did you know that lawyers are currently, and have been using for some time, Facebook and other social media sites as evidence in trial? They use it to establish behavior patterns and character. Not to mention the amount of other personal information someone can get on you through Facebook if they were planning either a break-in to your house or other property. I should write a book about using Facebook as an accomplice to crime.





There is nothing stopping me from taking a video of you and putting it on youtube with your name in the title. People will find that a lot faster than facebook which limits content you share based on your preference. Say you want to share you pix with only family, easy as pie.



As far as crime, I`m sure it does happen based on facebook info, but the reality is, don`t post status info like "I`m going on vacation for four weeks, cya" Most crime is based on opportunity.

[Ben@3D]

Funny this post came today. Was just watching a show last night called "The Facebook Obsession." Was pretty interesting. (Think it was on A&E.) Showed the good and bad of Facebook - Family Reuniting, people getting fired because of their profile, facebook Privacy Issues, stalking, and people getting off Facebook.



The part where they talk about Facebook`s privacy policy is down right scary. :nervous2:



Facebook`s track record is that they could care less about privacy. It is well known that they track every website their users go to and sells this info (along with user`s profile information) to 3rd parties. Privacy settings occasional default from "Friends Only" to "Everyone" as well.



Facebook can be another marketing tool though. I have seen several mobile detailers, who dont have a normal Facebook account, setup an account with their business name and use it successfully for business only.

[Nth Degree]

And as far as keeping up with family and friends, I like doing that the old fashioned way. Ignoring them altogether.:lol1::pound::lol1:




Not on it, never have been. But my entire family is on it... which is perhaps why I am not!:pound::lol1::pound::lol1::pound:



I`ve actually had to unfriend family members.:bounce:

[Bill D]

then why would I care? Do they care about what I`m doing enough to look me up?







I`m of the same thinking. I generally say I care as much about the people who I`ve encountered or had a connection with as they do about me. Anti-social? I don` t think so. Fair and pragmatic? I believe so.

[Jngrbrdman]

There is nothing stopping me from taking a video of you and putting it on youtube with your name in the title.



Sure there is. The main thing stopping you is that you don`t know where I am. :) On facebook you don`t need to know anything about where I am or what I`m doing to embarrass me in front of people. All I need is for some guy to post on Facebook "Hey man, remember that time we blew up the chemistry lab in High School and had to hide from the cops for like three days while we smoked all my brother`s pot? That was awesome!" and my work life would become very difficult. He doesn`t even have to have video to prove it is true. Just look how fast that clown with the buffer burn technique for removing overspray removed his Facebook link from his profile because it got hammered by haters. Some people have nothing better to do that make life difficult for those they dislike and that is a risk you take by putting your personal life out in the public. Someone could easily just dedicate an entire day to filling up your wall with stuff that you will have to find out about several hours later after all of your friends and family have already read it. Its not worth it to me to take that kind of risk when a phone call or email once in awhile keeps you far better connected.

[David Fermani]

For the last couple years I`ve been avoiding and actually boycotting FB like the plague. I think the last e-mail I received was that I have over 100 friend requests waiting for me. I`ll probably get around to getting back there soon. Or maybe not?