Posted on 03/27/2011 5:55:57 PM PDT by Red in Blue PA
TEA Parties use it to recruit and spread the word. I use it to manage a band. It informs and brings fans out to shows. I also post a LOT of conservative stuff I find on FR.
I ended up having to activate the account again because (get the irony of this), I work in marketing and my boss wanted us to start following FB and Twitter so we could keep up-to-date with the whole social media thing. You have to have an account to access anything that is on FB... even the public business pages. But we did a lot of meetings and set up a lot of ground rules. No personal posts from company computers, no "friending" people from work, and other things. I took the no "friending" co-workers one step further and decided no "friending" my neighbors either. Just don't want to hear about their "mentorships" with Planned Parenthood or other insidious goings-on, and don't want everyone gossiping about me at the dog park. That had happened previously. So now when a neighbor sends a friend request, I say politely, "I only use Facebook for work," and if a co-worker makes a request, "I only use Facebook for personal friends away from work."
So what does that leave me with, you ask? Basically people I knew from my college and high school days who live all the way across the country. I put certain people on lists where I don't see their posts (the "social media marketing expert and author" who is like having an Amway friend, or the Madison, Wisconsin hippie who thinks Scott Walker is The Devil). I do post political commentary on occasion, though don't usually get responses but from one or two others. I am constantly checking the privacy settings. They will change them on you. Any photos I am tagged in are blocked from everyone, etc. I have also stripped out all information except my name. I don't post pictures of myself (the new "face identification" nixed that whole thing). And I only post where I am after I just left the place.
Bottom line is it's a lot to keep track of. I keep my friend list under 100 people, and I'm not stupid enough to think all of those people are actually "friends." It's nice to keep in touch with those who are so far away, but as someone in the 40-yo age bracket, I'm not trying to impress anyone with the size of my "list." I do wish I had more conservative friends on FB, though!
Wow..thanks so much. I feel validated now.
It felt like an invasion of privacy...and I had no choice, and for the first time, I had no control over pictures of me.
You go to a cafe near where I live, every table taken by a person with a laptop, young, old, male female, crippled, blind, deaf, healthy, no one's talking to their neghbour unless they arrived with him/her, and everyone "talking" to their "friends" on Facebook.
I friended/fanned The US Army page — they post good photos.
ditto for Michael Yon.
Though I keep professional business contacts out of there. I keep those on linkedin.
I check into facebook most everyday. I subscribe to a lot of conservative sites there that provide interesting info. Occasionally someone from my past will drop in to say "hey". It's casual, no big deal.
Yes. I googled the way to get off of it.
Facebook is a good way for the govt and others to spy on you.
Like they don't here?
It is not really deleted, it is deactivated...you can reactivate if you log back on...maybe there is a time limit, say 3 years until they actually delete inactive FB accounts.
It's supposed to be 2 weeks of not logging in or you'll reactivate it, but for all I know, could be as long as it exists.
I still get friend invites, my email address must be retained somewhere despite being inactive for months, ignore them no matter who they are. A couple people sent me mass-addressed emails because they got a nasty virus that was spreading via embedded youtube videos, looked it up and sent them the fix, concernd downloading a malware flash player to view them.
All of the above, I've tried to get my whole family off of it to no avail. If you post photos with one of the newer iphones, turn off the GSP locator (can happen anywhere you post a photo); it really works to target the location where the photo was taken within a block or two, tested that out myself, 3-step process to find the location..
It's not just what you reveal about your life, but what your friends are saying about you and your life as well. People with mal intentions can piece a lot of information together and track your activities, to rob you or worse.
Finally like almost anything else, it can become addictive.
I know it's fun for some and good way to reconnect with old friends so if people enjoy it and don't know or mind the risks, why rain on their parade?
I like it, for the most part. I’ve connected with a bunch of old high school friends, and I finally am up to date on the next reunion.
A lot of the posts are inane ..but then, some people are just having fun with it.
To a mom who is stuck/isolated homeschooling, etc., it’s a wonderful social connection. Have also used it to keep up w/ many military friends all over the globe.
I think it’s a rather cool invention, but as with any other invention, has the risk of being used improperly and to extremes.
One little 20 something I know has 1700 “friends” on her page ... I just have to laugh.
“...my sister tries to push it on me so I can view her photo albums.”
A female friend of mine kept pestering me to sign up for it so I could see her phot albums too.
I did it to humor her. My profile is very low-key...and I plan on keeping it that way.
I hide all of those type of posts. I also hide annoying people’s posts. I block people from seeing some of my posts.
What you post on FR is instantly searchable at Google, albeit under your screen name. And, I suppose if subpoenaed, FR would have to reveal the identity under which you signed up. I don’t think there’s absolute privacy anywhere on the internet.
I hate Linked-in too.
I saw that at lunch in what was obviously a family get together in a local restaurant today.
Grandpa and Grandma and small grand kids were having a blast. A couple of the young mothers were so absorbed in posting the latest ??? , they missed everything. In a weird sort of way, I felt sorry for them.
Failbook: It's for losers.
Fishbook: Good, but I wasn't sure about being that visible, basically living in an internet fishbowl.
Phasebook: I tried this for a brief time, but that was, well, just a phase.
Fussbook: Looked interesting and appealed to the persnickety part of me. The layout seems a little off but I think it would be perfect for obsessive-compulsive types.
Freshbook: Its denizens appear to primarily consist of farmers, grocers and smart-alecky guys.
!@#?!book: Too darned annoying. Won't friggin catch on at all.
Feesbook: Attracts mostly attorneys and bankers and other professionals. (I noticed some Mexicans there too. I think they may have misread.)
Footbook: Runners, marathon aficionados, and shoe salesmen rush to this one and line up to register.
Faintbook: For those sensitive, dreamy women who read lots of romance novels. Nothing they write is the truth.
Fizzbook: The people this draws are fun and have bubbly personalities!!! Lots of {{{{hugs}}}} here.
Elbowbook: My personal fave since it seems like a website that would appreciate my little "jabs" at humor.
LOL! ;-)
Sis pushes on her two nephews, my sons. As early 20 somethings there is no way they want their aunt seeing their pages. Every year it’s, “Oh, I forgot, I’ll have to remember to do that”.
In Russia, Facebook account deletes YOU.
;-)
ROFL! (using Russian dialect made it especially humorous)
To a conservative, Texas stay at home mom living in California, it’s a connection to old conservative friends.
Also, my kids’ school posts lots of event invitations on facebook. Their all in theater at their school, and the theater facebook page will post videos from the plays they are in.
I hide all the farmville, etc type posts. I also have started hiding posts from people that I don’t want to read their updates from.
Two of my relatives who are particularly vulnerable because of their circumstancess in life, I did warn, and my warning was heeded to a degree. Concerned posting photos of your children in the public area and other vulnerabilities that may not exist for some.
I understand why it's fun for you, who am I to say? I think I got a lot of that out of my system in my early days on the web and quickly found out if I got any more deeply involved in it, I'd be doing little else. I wasn't that afraid for myself.
It's tempting to go back for one friend who posts almost exclusively there now, but no, he'll get along just fine without me. He's a wonderful photographer, can't live without his camera around his neck, very versatile, but too many nudes are taking up his time LOL. I looked at a couple, saw some artistic merit in some of them, but had enough of it. His other work I just drool over and if I don't have to sign up again on FB to get his new book, I might get it, no it's for kindle, don't want that, monitor is hard enough on my eyes as it is,
It is unique and one of the best ways to find and stay in touch with people; that I will concede. Have fun, sounds like homeschooling, you need some social networking.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.