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!

Why I Enjoy Blogging - a Year Later

Kaffeeklatch - Google Image, Courtesy pbase.com

The Old Geezer Blog poster, RJWhite, asked why we blog and gives statistics on how many more women than men were blogging, today. Suggesting our natural verbosity was the impetus for the high numbers is an interesting point. But, I think it has more to do with the availability of time and a natural inclination to share information, something the men of my generation, at least, didn't find easy. There are always exceptions and I think the numbers will change, before long. But, his blog is well worth your taking the time to visit. It's a fun blog and, my comment to his question, was the prompt for today's post.

My early blogging began on a long-since retired business site of mine. It was a place for me to share upcoming events and feelings about day-to-day blips and vexations. (I had to use that word. It's one of my favorites from another place in time.) And, I wasn't looking for followers -- I didn't understand their power or what it could mean for me, at the time. Living alone, it was a way of reaching out and communicating with others, a catch-as-catch-can posting done as the mood struck. Then, I discovered solar cooking and decided other mainstream cooks should know about this energy-saving appliance. I wrote my solar cookbook, "A Month of SUNdays - Solar Cooking at Home." People who had bought my book wanted more information and recipes and suggested I start a solar cooking blog. Reluctantly, I did. For them, I said. Because, they asked me to and I didn't want to disappoint them, I said. Then, something happened.