I have a Facebook account. Of course I do. Everyone does.
I find it useful at times. Facebook has helped me to reconnect with old friends, learn about social events, find out who recently got married, who's having babies, etc. I log on at least once a day to get an update.
But I'm not a heavy Facebook user. I rarely post. I generally only friend people I either know very well or who have friended me first, so I have less than 150 friends. I put up a photo when my baby was born, then 2-3 more photos since then, and that's been pretty much it for the year. Mainly, I've avoided using Facebook (much) or Twitter (at all) because I know I have a tendency to overuse these things, and I didn't want all my real life friends to think I was a loser who was always on Facebook. Plus I just don't have time in my life for another internet diversion.
Maybe it's because I use it so rarely though that every time I DO post something on Facebook, I feel like such a loser.
For example, on my post where I announced my baby's birth, 15 people "liked" the post and 8 commented. In contrast, someone on my friends list recently posted a picture of a cereal box and got more comments and "likes" than that. WTF? It really makes me feel kind of bad.
Then again, I finally made my birthday public this year and I've never in my life gotten so many people I barely know wishing me happy birthday.
Facebook prioritises stories from people that you have interacted with recently. One consequence of this is that since you don't use it excessively not many people get to see your updates - so don't feel bad. It pushes people towards updating a lot or not updating at all, but whatever its just facebook. Recently facebook has allowed more manual control of this process - but not everyone has gone and altered their subscription settings.
ReplyDeleteI wish facebook let you display your birth year but not birth date. I want people to know how old I am but I don't want annoying birthday messages!
Chris: That actually makes me feel better. It's a pretty stupid system though. I mean, if someone hardly ever posts, I bet when they do, it's something important.
ReplyDeleteI had no idea about what Chris said either.... makes me feel like less of a loser as well.
ReplyDelete:-)
Good whine post. Fortunately facebook has too many complex info fatty acids for me... going on an information diet and keeping the calories down.
ReplyDeleteI don't have an FB account. Don't want one, either.
ReplyDeleteGrumpy: I think you're too old ;)
ReplyDeleteI absolutely agree 100% with Linda! Facebook makes me pissy...or maybe my 'friends' are total crap! I look at all their snot nosed kids pictures can't they be excited that I met the damn PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES????? Like 3! Whatever!
ReplyDeleteI also didn't realize what Chris said, and I can't seem to find where to change that option. I always found it odd that when my wife and I both would post about something that happened to me, she would get far more responses about it than I would. Like my wife's friends cared more about me than my own friends. Maybe they do. Maybe I have the wrong friends.
ReplyDeleteSo if your posts aren't showing up on people's pages, you will interact with them less. When you interact with them less, then your posts will be less likely to show up on their pages, which means you will interact with them less, which means your posts will be less likely to show up on their pages. Makes sense to me.
The truth about facebook. Sorry guys, it's a girls world.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.friendus.me/apps/blog/show/8014056-female-vs-male-facebook-
Pluripotent: I don't even know what those three numbers mean...
ReplyDeleteIt's the number of new messages.
ReplyDeleteI have resisted Faceook. It's weird to me that people you haven't seen in a decade can interact with you like they have seen you. (My sister lives on FB so despite MY resistance those decade people still have "seen" me multiple times in ten years!)
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