Friday 17 April 2009

Facebook? You're having a laugh

I posted a link to some research about Facebook and poor grades correlating. Now I notice from my Academia.edu page that someone googled my name and 'facebook'.

I had a facebook page for about two weeks over a year ago because I teach new media and thought I should know how it worked. I hated it. I would rather chop down trees with my molars like my beaver cousins than engage with such tedious, pointless nonsense again. Where's the creativity? The privacy? I can see the point if you have family and friends on different continents, but even then, you could use e-mail and Flickr for photos. Knowing whether someone is having beans or eggs for breakfast, or receiving animated pints of beer just makes me angry.

Read a book. I don't, frankly, know your motivations for reading this blog, but at least I've written something, pointed you in (hopefully) interesting directions, and am open to commentary and discussion. Facebook seems so much less creative and open: a wave rather than a handshake.

6 comments:

Ewarwoowar said...

Good for Texas Hold 'Em Poker though, Vole.

Zoot Horn said...

I just read your entry and now I'm going to the shops. Will tell you if they have my fave m&ms on facebook later, and will photograph the items and post the photo, and comment on it using txt spk.

dot said...

I used to have a facebook account just because all of my friends have, I did not actually relised what it is all about before I joined it. when I saw how it works, it annoyed me so much (these all stupid applications are the worst!),so I just deleted my account... well, at least I THOUGHT i delated it. when I started to do my final project I wanted to send some on-line questionnaires so I thought I would use my friend's facebook account to do so, but it occured that I can easily 'refresh' my previously cancelled one, because it's just 'frozen'... noone told me that it work like that when I was signing in...I did not like it at all, but I came back on Facebook for about 2 weeks, to send the message around, and then I 'cancelled' (how to call it?! ) my account again. the truth is that when you google my name, it still shows that I am on facebook, also, all that 'freezing thing' means that whoever owns facebook database, they still have my details :/
it'sick, I wish I never used it but it's too late anyway...
The thing about such social-networking sites is that in many cases they are the only way to contact with some people, arrange meetings etc (that's what my husband does with his facebook account). now many peeople do not want you to call or email them anymore, they prefer the message facebook...

The Deer Friend said...

Oh no, oh no: if I get started on this topic I'll never stop.
Things have changed, it seems. When only 26 years ago the German government decided to count its citizens and take down their gender, address, religion and the like, people weren't having any of it and there were countless demonstrations and court cases until the government had to back down.
Nowadays, nobody really gives a shit about data protection. People give away anything on Facebook. And then they're shocked when they read that employers regularly check people's facebook sites before they accept anyone.
And also: there's fucking CCTV in this country (sorry, vole, for the unimaginative swearing, but when it comes to this, there simply is no time for niceties) and people all over the UK are currently anonymously (watch it, Cynical Ben...) following us down the road, trying to find out if we are the dog ownner who let their hound foul in front of the McDonald's. And nobody cares. It didn't even get a full page in the Guardian.
Oh, I've got to stop myself here...

dot said...

to the Deer Friend - 'And nobody cares' - believe me, I DO care...

Benjamin. said...
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