Facebook Friend: You're Doing it Wrong
I have a feeling some people don't understand the term: social networking. I say this because around election time the fur flies and people start posting the dumbest things. Most of the sound bites are taken out of context, or else the little bits of information are twisted to justify the argument.
But here's the thing. No matter what side you're on--no matter how sure you are--I can find a compelling argument for the exact opposite conclusion. (Learned that little trick in debating class. :grin:)
So in effect, these tirades are pointless. The posts come across as spam and it makes the poster look like a six-year old.
Everybody's entitled to an opinion and I usually ignore the vitriolic posts, but one of those Facebook hotheads posted one diatribe too many. After the fifth post on the same day, I clicked on her name and discovered I couldn't even find a nice, friendly post. She was nothing but vinegar.
I unfriended her. Give it a rest, honey. When I go to Facebook, I want to socialize. I don't want to read political propaganda.
But what if I'm wrong? Maybe people DO go there to read the trending political rhetoric. I could be totally out of touch. (Wouldn't be the first time.) So I thought I would ask you guys. Most of you have far more experience on Facebook than I do. What do you like to read when you visit Facebook? Have you ever unfriended somebody because they offended or annoyed you?
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Is something fishy going on? If you haven't backed up your blog recently, you might want to do it today. Lately, the spam has been coming faster and meaner than the scorpions around here. And I noticed that a blog I normally follow suddenly showed up on my Reader with a dozen posts about travel--and with someone else's name on each post. I don't know if her blog had been highjacked or if she was the victim of corrupted code.
Makes me nervous when I see signs of a potential blog apocalypse.
If you're on Blogger, go to your Settings, then to the Basic tab, and click: Export Blog. It'll take you to a new screen that says: Download Blog. Click on Download and save the file.
I try to do this every quarter, but maybe I'll start backing up more often--just in case something nasty is trolling around.
Comments
Thanks for the reminder to back up. I'll do that immediately.
I sure hope this isn't a sign of that blog apocalypse.
Re. Facebook - Most of the time I just skim past the political nonsense. But I did unfriend one woman who was constantly tearing down her son (i.e. "useless piece of shi*t") even after he commented, "Hey, I'm right here." I didn't want to be part of that.
Linda: Ref: tearing down her son
Now, that's just sad. Shame on her. Even if it were true, you just don't do that in public.
Ref: blog
Let me email you in a bit. You need to download another browser.
What I get a lot is people (with normal pictures) friend me, and as soon as they have like 10 friends, the picture changes into something pornographic and they start sending messages with a porno site link.
Or once, I had this woman friend me, and as soon as I accepted, she posted a pic of herself with underwear only, and she tagged me in it. I constantly have to report/block/unfriend those kinds of people. Now, when accepting a new friend, I really have to check their profile before I say yes.
What I get a lot is people (with normal pictures) friend me, and as soon as they have like 10 friends, the picture changes into something pornographic and they start sending messages with a porno site link.
Or once, I had this woman friend me, and as soon as I accepted, she posted a pic of herself with underwear only, and she tagged me in it. I constantly have to report/block/unfriend those kinds of people. Now, when accepting a new friend, I really have to check their profile before I say yes.
Unfortunately, FB (and Twitter) is hit or miss on whether I get an email alerting me. I wish I understood why that was. Sometimes I get notified and sometimes I'm not.
I don't want to read political rhetoric either. I'm there to connect with friends and family who live far off. That's it. If I have something of that nature to say, I'll privately message the person I intend to read it.
Anyhoo...you're not alone. :} I've encountered a few persons who always have something negative to say. Eventually, we go our separate ways. I don't like all that negativity. It drags me down. I'd much prefer a laugh!
Thanks for this post. :)TX
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Texanne: I usually only have time to visit FB on weekends, so I especially like more light-hearted fare.
Poison upsets my stomach. :o)
One of the things, however, that seems to work for me is that I'm Canadian. I talk about Canadian stuff, so it seems that only the Canadians really get involved.
Sometimes, being in another country really helps :D
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Stacy: Either Chrome or Firefox. But first make sure you have the latest version of IE. I believe the latest one is IE9. It could be just your version needs updating.
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Krista: It's a thin line to walk especially since we're in the public eye as authors. I don't want my political, religious, or sexual preferences to color anyone's perception of me as an author.
Since I don't write political fiction (and what part of politics isn't fiction?) it doesn't make sense for me to bring it up in my author profile.
I try to be careful in what I let the public see. Not because I'm ashamed of it, but because it isn't relevant.
I have always thought that there is a very big difference between Americans and British folk when it comes to politics. It has always appeared that Americans care more or at least have an opinion. It is very important to you as a nation. One of my favourite examples is the TV show the West Wing. The fact that it was a serious political drama that ran for seven seasons is testament to the fact that politics mean more to Americans that it does to british people. Of course we do satire very well, but any serious drama about UK politics on our televisions is about as rare as rocking horse poop.
I do agree with you though, Politics is a big issue and shouldn't be taken lightly. It has a time and a place and blogs about creative writing isn't it. More importantly, if you really care that much, maybe, you should have a blog about politics and do your business there. At least you are able to expound on your point of view. Status updates and tweets can't do that for you.
Aside from that, its always a pleasure to read your posts on writing Maria. As a newbie to it, I always find something useful to take away from them and implement in my process.
Cheers,
Wayne.
Not that I want to deny them the right to express themselves. Just not in my social space.
I recall de-friending one person who was constantly posting horrific pictures of abused animals. Not that I don't sympathize with the cause, but I just couldn't bear seeing the pictures.
I've grown to ignore the political rhetoric. So much negative in the world all on its own. I don't need the vitriol of ignorance in 6 second sound bites. Though I haven't unfriended anyone, I have learned to ignore the e-mails received by a member of a certain online group I'm a part of. Everything she sent was negative and every time I researched it - like I was hoping she had - it came out misconstrued or down right false. So I usually delete without reading if I see her name. Sad really, one day she may actually send something worthwhile and I won't know it.
I ignore most of Facebook, which I know sounds odd, like, why be friends if I'm not going to read updates, but it just takes up too much life.
Backing up is a good idea, no matter what sort of blog you have. Wordpress has several backup plug ins that are useful.
Ref: satire
I never thought about that. The British tv shows that do the best over here seem to be satire. Cool.
Ref: writing
Glad those posts are useful. I don't write them often. But if I feel something has helped me, I try to share it when I can.
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Dee: I have someone who posts stories about abused animals, but no pictures. I get so angry at what people do I am likely to end up in jail one day if I ever catch anyone abusing a defenseless animal.
Hope someone will bail me out. :)
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Angela: I don't post a lot either other than the automatic feeds from my blogs. I like to read and post on weekends though when I have more time.
I was wondering why I only saw bible verses from you. :)
PS Sorry to hear about your computer. Hope you get yours back soon. :(
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Dru: I try to ignore the politics, but people get so in-your-face. It's rude.
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Shelley: You mean you guys don't talk about politics down-under? Or maybe Wayne (above) is right. It's only Americans who feel they have to put in their two cents.
PS. Just backed up. Thx!
Raelyn: I blocked someone once for posting too many music videos. Once is a while is great, but several times a day is overkill.
But, Maria, thanks for the tip ref blogger. I'll try acting on it today, in painting a large room 'sunburnt terracotta' doesn't get in the way. Pretentious? Moi? a little bit of Tuscany in Wales : )
I'm exactly the same. I have very strong political views and I'm quite opinionated (no, really ... I KNOW -- hard to believe, right?), but I don't discuss it on FB. That's not why I'm there.
I don't care if my FB friends feel differently (even though they're wrong *G*), I don't even mind if they discuss it now and then.
I'll let the occasional diatribe pass, but when they come constantly from the same person OR if I see even one full of sheer nastiness, I unfriend. I have no time for that.
And, as always, I'm well behind. Sorry :-(
I don't expect anyone to agree with my opinions. Heck even Greg doesn't always agree with them, but at least we don't trash each other over our differences. That's just rude.
I miss the old days when people didn't get personal about it.