Friday, April 6, 2012

F is for FB in the A-Z Writing Challenge

F is for Facebook in the 2012 A-Z Writing Challenge.

No picture, today.

I'm almost afraid to ask whether or not you are on Facebook. What I do know is that I'm beginning to feel as though Facebook is a stalker – or, what I consider stalking. I know that it has become primarily a tool for advertisers but FB's current behavior would not be tolerated in the real world. If representatives from Walmart, Saks Fifth Avenue, your local farmers market, any store, aggressively followed your every step, you could bring stalking charges against them.

And, yet, we have allowed this invasive website to shadow our every move, so that our "friends" will know where we are, what we do, where we've been, and what we like -- steps, that, in real life, we don't necessarily share with our most intimate friends. Something is drastically wrong, here. Am I the only one that is getting disturbed to find that FB is on almost every site you visit, now? And, ready to share this info with the world?

Conversely, what I enjoy the most about Facebook is that I can keep up with my family and friends scattered around the world. Unfortunately, to enjoy that closeness, we have to include them as "friends" and expand to add associates, only to discover that Facebook then allows their close friends and associates to "friend" us. It isn't long before we discover we don't know half the people on our Friend List. This has created a most irritating problem of unknown "friends" who want to Instant Chat with me, who then become abusive when I won't. One 'friend' was so breathtakingly persistent, even after I specifically asked them to leave me alone, that I became afraid to go online. I still can't figure out how to get rid this person off my list.

I know that we can opt out of who we want to see our postings, but I don't think that that should be the standard. I think we should be given the option of opting in to new apps and not have to worry about where our personal information is being shared, if we are not computer savvy enough, in the first place. And, with Facebook constantly changing its layout, this becomes a job, in itself. I love playing the games with my family members and close friends. It's as close to family gatherings as we can get. But, I wouldn't ask them to pay as they advanced, and I don't like think we should have to on FB. Games should be free, since they so freely share out information with advertisers. Let those advertisers support the games, entirely.

What used to be fun has become tiresome. Almost all the games now want you to buy more coins/tokens to continue playing or invite your friends to "help" you advance to a new level. Frankly, I don't want to irritate my friends by asking them to have to join the app and share their personal information, just to give me some help. This allows even more people I don't know access to my profile and how I spent my day. You earn coins as you play the games, but you can't spend them, so what's the point in that? – you have to buy more coins to play. Grrrr.

Am I being petty? Do you like the direction Facebook is heading? Do you find it invasive? Am I too old-fashioned?



For those of you who have just happened upon this page, I'm Entry #424 in a group of 1682 participants in this 2012 A-Z Writing Challenge! Do yourself a favor and check out a group of fantastic bloggers. You're bound to find someone you might like to follow. Don't forget to leave some loving comments and spread the word. It could even inspire you to think about joining next year's Challenge, yourself!

16 comments:

  1. I use Facebook but only for what I want; chat doesn't exist as far as I'm concerned except for my family links.
    Will you be doing Twitter for T?

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    1. Twitter for T? I doubt it. But, you can skip it and you won't hurt my feelings.

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  2. interest F
    happy Easter
    do check out my F at GAC a-z

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    1. Sorry I was so disappointing. But, to many, FB is becoming a very different animal than when it started, so people's feeling do change. Have a Happy Easter, yourself.

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  3. I don't think that we can ever have fun without paying for it. Sometimes the price seems pretty steep and I agree that the loss of privacy is a very high tax on the fun of connecting with friends and family. I wonder if I could even say that I don't want to play that game any more?

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    1. I think you can choose not to play the game and just stay a neighbor so your friends don't lose their scoring. I've dropped almost all games, except Words with Friends and Jeopardy.

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  4. I think Facebook is only an invasion of privacy if you want it to be. I only "friend" people I know and ignore requests of friends of friends and even clients. My written posts can only be seen by friends (and not their friends) and the only thing public are my photos (they are of dogs so not usually that personal). They've set it up so you can post things that only certain groups can see (family, close friends, etc) so you can still share news without it going out to the world. It is much more private than a blog that can be seen by anyone. :)

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    1. I agree. But, not everyone on FB is savvy to not only getting to this information but able to figure out the convoluted language. (It's meant to stultify so that the advertisers don't lose their grip.) Most of my friends (and we're the senior generation) can barely operate a computer, much less figure out how to get behind the scenes. And, the good of FB is that you can keep in touch with family and friends.

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  5. Sharlene - Kudos to you for bring this issue up. I am not on Facebook for all the reasons you just outlined. The power of one man (reminds me of a dictatorship) being allowed to get away with what he does is appalling.

    I know lots of people love it...just not me! Besides, my small circle of friends knows what's going on in my world without the help of Zuckerberg.

    Excellent "F" post.

    Jenny @ Pearson Report
    Co-Host of the Blogging from A to Z Challenge.

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    1. Unfortunately, my entire family is spread out all over the country and FB has been great for keeping up. How a college kid got so much power is beyond me, too. As they say, "Follow the money." Money doesn't care what it buys.

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  6. I have used FB for over 3 years and use it to keep in touch with family and friends as well as former co-workers and school chums.

    I don't post anything that I wouldn't want the world to see, just not worth it.

    That said, I have had to block a couple of folks...that means they don't see me or any reference to me. And it does work..go to privacy settings (upper right hand corner) and the last option on the page is to manage your blocking.

    I hate the changes most of the time but for us as full-time travelers, it really helps stay in touch.

    PS. In case you don't know it, you have word verification turned on. Makes it more difficult to post comments. ;-)

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    1. I don't post anything I don't want the world to see, either. I don't mind the changes on FB, that much, either. I loathe the invasion on FB on every other web site, though. 'Nuff said.

      Thanks for the heads up on verification. I thought I had turned it off. I did on my other blog and, apparentely, just forgot to do it on this one, too.

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  7. Visiting from A/Z. I have to say I do agree with what you are saying about FB. I have a love hate relationship with it, LOL. I do like keeping in touch with people but I don't like everyone seeing my updates even when I have the settings set for only friends to see things. So I message a lot of people on there. I have not confirmed friend requests if I don't want to be a FB friend to that particular person. I have to say though, I do like Word With Friends :)

    enjoy the rest of the challenge :)


    betty

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    1. Oh, yeah. I'm definitely love-hate, at this time. I just resent having to do all the opting-out. Why didn't he ask me before he started FB, anyway!

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  8. I joined facebook so I could see my kids pictures - which is where they posted them. I never post anything and rarely comment on postings. I haven't had the problems you have, but I can tell you if facebook went away tomorrow I wouldn't miss it for a second.

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    1. I'm beginning to feel the same way. So many people are using it for the political rantings that it's become very unpleasant on some days. But, I do so enjoy seeing family photos and catching up in their lives.

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