I suppose it’s time to stop bitching about Facebook; it doesn’t show signs of going away any time soon and, I have to admit, I’m beginning to find it useful.
Before you think I’m jumping too enthusiastically on the technology bandwagon, let me assure you I still eschew e-books and think Twitter is a waste of bandwidth. Twitter offers only a tiny part of Facebook’s most used and useful feature, but without any of the bells and whistles. It is a redundancy. It should slink away. Now.
But Facebook, despite still being beyond my understanding, is carving out a cozy corner in my heretofore cold heart. It is actually a time saver, allowing me to hit one page and find out what all my virtual acquaintances are up to in one go. That, to me, is the selling point, and why it is the page I usually hit after my Yahoo mail homepage. It doesn’t take as much time or effort as reading though blog after blog and it lets me catch up on everyone. That said, it is a lot more superficial, but these days, that is probably a bonus.
Logging on to Facebook is like wandering into the school cafeteria at lunchtime. You can see groups of people clustered around different tables, some you know, some you don’t. You can overhear snatches of conversation between your friends and friends of friends. You might even sit down and have a word with one or two of them. Then you leave, content knowing everyone is all right and having a good time and that they know that you are as well.
If, however, you’re looking to sit down over a buttered scone and a cup of tea with one of your closer friends, well then, you need to go somewhere else.
A blog, for instance, where you can ramble on for more than 140 characters, make a point, paint a scene, talk about something important to you in a meaningful way and not be forced to reduce it to, “Got dumped on Saturday. Really sucks. :(“
I was a long time coming to blogs, being happy in my Luddite world of HTML, but once I crossed over, I was hooked. Problem is, now that I am firmly settled in the blogshpere, I find they are, like, so 2008. I thought I was being hip, but I find myself, once again, sitting on the trailing edge of technology.
I just read an article claiming that e-mail will be extinct in another ten years. Seems it is being regarded as too old fashioned. The focus, the article claims, is shifting away from instantly sending a significant chunk of information directly to the person you want it delivered to and more toward broadcasting snippets of news to a wide group of people.
Texting, Facebook, Twitter—that’s what the hip young people are using these days. E-mail is, well, so, 2008.
It makes me want to crawl back to my HTML and hide,
F*&%$@G Facebook.
CROSS DRESSING BLOGS -- a word of explanation:
In casting about so something new to write about, it came to my attention that the post on my Life of Writing blog has as much to do with writing as the post currently on my Postcards From Across the Pond blog has to do about being an expat. So, in the interest of buying myself more time (and perhaps gaining a few crossover fans) I have simply swapped them around.
I hope this doesn’t break some sort of blogshere code of honor or anything. I’m not trying to pull a fast one; I’m just too tired to write anything new (in the blog arena) at the moment.
And the best part it, the Sucking Face (book) post, when it goes on my Postcards blog, will automatically be posted to Facebook.
I didn't really use Facebook, for a while, and then it was unblocked at work. Now I'm on it all the time. I think I still prefer blogging.
ReplyDeleteI have a Twitter account, but haven't used it in over a year.
Great post. I love blogland and I don't care if it is so 2008. I tried twitter but quickly got bored as it just felt like being in a really crowded room with everyone trying to get the attention of everyone else. I see blogging as the online world's version of slow food. It may be old fashioned in some circles, but in others it means quality over quantity.
ReplyDeleteI heart FB as a lot of my good friends are thousands of miles away. I can't bring myself to even look at Twitter though. I just don't have the time. But back to FB - how come I posted something on the PP page today and yet over in your margin it says there's been no activity in, like, a decade?
ReplyDeleteDon't write off Twitter too quickly. The thing it offers over and above FB is access to more potential readers for your blog more quickly. I only have 140 fans on FB but I have 1200 followers on Twitter who could all look at my blog on any given day. If exposure is what you're looking for or marketing of a product, Twitter is heads and shoulders above FB because you can reach more people more quickly with just one Tweet. Some people don't want a relationship with you (as in FB) but just want quick information. I resisted Twitter for a long time because I didn't understand the appeal but once I tried it and realized the benefit I was hooked. Twitter can take over your life and become addictive though so Toni may be smart in avoiding it. I use it to network and promote my blog. It's all about what you want really. I like both platforms.
ReplyDeleteKristina: "I didn't really use Facebook, for a while, and then it was unblocked at work. Now I'm on it all the time."
ReplyDeleteSome of us have to work while we're at work ;)
Purest: "Slow food" - I like that; very apt. Social networking is the equivalent of a McDrivethrough.
Expat Mum: As I said, I just can't figure FB out. Call me old fashioned, but I like an application that behaves the same way all the time. On FB, the same actions often result in different outcomes. e.g. My widget used to update all the time, but now it hasn't updated in yonks.
Smitten: You prove my point. Twitter is filled with people all shouting to be heard. No one is talking, they are selling, to other salesmen. And if you posted something on Twitter, unless I logged in within five minutes, it would be lost in the cyber babble.
But mostly, as you point out, it is the time element. Life's too short.
I LOVE your analogy about FB being a high school cafeteria. You are SO right! I have a few friends on FB that I don't even have email addressed for and I just use the message portion of FB when I want a longer, more private 'chat.'
ReplyDeleteI tried Twitter....it doesn't work for me. I find it confusing to follow threads. Blogging takes enough of my life and FB can be a time sucker, too.
But the cafeteria.....brilliant!