Janka's log : Why I do not want to know if I would enjoy Facebook

Comment on Why I do not want to know if I would enjoy Facebook by laurau

Tue, 09 Jun 2009 16:02:13 +0300

As I don’t have a blog, I’ll leave my random thoughts about the topic here for Yoe to pick yp, if you don’t mind. If you do, just delete the comment, I won’t be offended. :)

I haven’t tried Facebook or twitter or J/Qaiku etc either. Mostly, I feel I don’t need them. Also, FB’s privacy and data ownership policies are something I object to, which has prevented me from creating an account when I’ve considered it a couple of times.

FB might work for me, but I just stated the problem. When it comes to the more instant stuff, I just feel it can’t interest anyone whether I’m heading for Prisma or going to park with my kid. I don’t do much fancy stuff that would be interesting for anybody to read about. Or maybe their point is something else, but then they’ve failed their marketing. Also, I don’t really miss being on-line when I’m not on the computer, so why should I make myself used to that? I find it quite disturbing when people are multitasking and checking their IRC and emails and newsfeeds on the phone when they’re out with me somewhere.

And come to think of it, although I do have public web pages and generally like to be present in the web using my own name (btw, this blog asks for “your blog”’s URL in the optional “leave url” field, which is why I didn’t leave any, even though I suppose I could’ve been less nitpicky and leave my homepage URL :), there are many things about my life that I don’t want to share in the web (outside my irc channel, which I consider a private place), and I fel (might be wrong, though) that social media is largely about sharing just these things. Not for me. (And people just reading other people’s entires are easily called “lurkers” and deemed non-constructive, even parasites in web discussions; I can sortof inderstand the feeling but I don’t really agree.)

Hmm, hope this made sense.

Comment on Why I do not want to know if I would enjoy Facebook by Janka

Tue, 09 Jun 2009 18:16:35 +0300

I don’t mind at all. :)

I’ll see if I can change the URL prompt text some easy way without actually touching source code (and making it explode next time admin

Comment on Why I do not want to know if I would enjoy Facebook by Satu

Fri, 12 Jun 2009 09:00:22 +0300

As much as I agree with almost everything Janka says above, I must admit that I don’t understand how these issues relate to Facebook :-) I am one of those people who use Facebook exactly once a day, as the very last thing before I head for home. Sometimes this takes 10 minutes, sometimes 30, and at least from my point of view, Facebook is far more suitable for this kind of communication than IRC, skype chats or blogs. Facebook chattering does not require immediate response, and nobody is offended if I don’t reply right away or if I spend several days saying nothing, while nobody finds it awkward if I comment a joke made by someone with whom I haven’t talked since the 1990ies (well…or that’s what I think, anyway). Facebook is particularly convenient for someone like me, as every single friend I made during the first 30 years of my life, as well as most friends I’ve made ever since, live 1000-17000 kilometers – and, more importantly, several timezones – away from me.

Given its superiority, it is really a shame that Facebook is owned and run by apparently immoral cutthroat commercialists. I have tremendously high expectations of Wave (although I am wary of Google’s monopoly on knowledge, as well).

Comment on Why I do not want to know if I would enjoy Facebook by Janka

Fri, 12 Jun 2009 11:26:58 +0300

Satu, you are right – the issues do not relate to Facebook, as such, in any case not any more than any other of the social media mentioned in the post, including email and mobile phones.

I do not dislike or dismiss Facebook specifically and I would indeed probably like it. Facebook is simply Yet Another Fragmentation Thing, and I do not currently want to add one without giving something I already do up, and I do not want to give something up.

For someone who does not yet do any social media thingamabobs and wants to start one, Facebook is currently possibly one of the best options, apart from the privacy issues, which I do not know enough to comment on (but would suggest a person considering it would spend some time finding out about), simply because it is the most widely used one.

I have not found out enough of Wave to really understand what it is about.