Why I Don't Use Facebook & Twitter...

OK...let's get things straight right from the beginning. I do not have a Facebook (FB) account, nor do I have a Twitter (TW) account. I admit that I have looked at both, and I have occasionally written a message on my wife's FB wall, notifying folks about the latest post on my blog. But, I do not want, nor plan to acquire my own FB or TW account. Why? Let's see....

I'll mainly discuss FB since that's the most I know about. Seems like you're either in one camp or the other. I suppose some people use both, but it appears that most folks gravitate to their preference. I know the most (although little) about FB because that's what Tami uses. and uses. and uses! I remember when PCs first came onto the scene decades ago and they were migrating into people's homes. Once we finally purchased one, she thought it was evil! She thought it was like opening your home to perfectly unsafe strangers. Back then, it was a time when you were careful about the information you put on the "public Internet". Boy, has she changed her tune!

With FB, you let people know things, and thoughts, and feelings like never before. It now makes ME feel like we are totally transparent and visible. Do I really want someone to know that I am about to take the dog for a walk in my neighborhood? Or that someone just changed a poo-ie diaper from the dark side? Anyway, social networking has firmly grabbed a foothold in today's electronic culture, and it appears it's here for a while. Tami is a testament to that!

On FB you have "friends" that you either accept or ignore. Some people have hundreds, thousands of friends. Are they really friends? I'm sure I don't have that many! My Mom & Dad might be considered friends....but, 400 - 500? No way!! I'm sure I might know that many people, but they're more like acquaintances - right? Seems like an extremely easy way to offend people also. I mean, if you ignore a "friend request", isn't that like saying "butt out, scum dog! I don't want to know you! Eat dirt & die!!"? Talk about the dark side.....

Barbara Ortutay, AP Technology Writer, recently wrote about FB & TW etiquette. Now, there's even etiquette for social networking! I'm still working on the basic "normal" etiquette, much less, FB etiquette... The immediacy & speed of the shared information is clearly the biggest change. She says that "these days, milestones like marriage, pregnancy, breakups, and divorce are being described over more forms of communication than ever before." You have to ensure you release the sensitive information in your preferred sequence: written letter, e-mail, phone call, FB, or TW, etc. Heaven forbid if someone reads something sensitive on FB before you were able to tell them "in person".

So here's the scope:

• I don't know how to use Facebook...


• I don't know the proper etiquette in online social networking circles... when do you use a "mood face"?


• I don't want to share my mundane and trivial moments with the entire world... after all, they're mundane and trivial...
  


• I am afraid that I truly would have only a couple of friends..... I think Tami has over 450+... boy, would I look bad!
  


• I don't want to spend several hours per day reading YOUR mundane and trivial moments... after all, well you get it...
  


• I am afraid I would make someone really mad if I didn't want to be their friend.... even though I don't expect many offers....
  


• I originally thought FB was for young adults.... not old guys like me....
  


• And, mainly.... Tami would kill me if we had to share the computer for "Facebook time"....

Oh, BTW, let me know how many of you read this blog posting because you saw it on Tami's FB..... it is a great way to advertise.... Later...

Are you Addicted?

Things are pretty much back to normal. My wife, Tami, has seemed to have overcome her jet lag, all of the mail has been reviewed, the bills are caught up, the house is still standing, and the dog is still alive. I was in Australia for two weeks - Tami was there for three. She struggled a bit longer with the time readjustment than I did. For the first few nights, she was coming to bed around 3 AM. You may have seen some Facebook entries at about that time.....

Speaking of addictions..... Do you Facebook? More than you should? Is there something else that is not being done because you have to leave a comment on FB? Do you update your status from your mobile device while stopped at a stop light? Maybe Tami's not that bad, but I would definitely classify it as an addiction.

The whole FB concept is very intriguing.... just to think that people actually care about your hour-to-hour (or minute-to-minute) status is amazing. Actually, I don't think people really care, but it's a great entry point into a conversation. Honestly, it was a very effective way for Tami to keep everyone up-to-date on the progress of our Australian adventures and the birth of our 1st grandchild, Savannah. After Savvy was born, and it was announced via FB, Tami received 37 pages of emails, generated by FB, congratulating her of Savvy's arrival. 37 pages of inbox messages!!

Selfishly, we have also advertised this blog site on Tami's FB. Over the 2 week period that I was down under, this blog was averaging 115 hits per day. Unbelievable, really!! But, the traffic clearly increased when it was mentioned on FB. FB was also a great place for us to post pictures of the trip. Many of you commented on those as well. Actually, many of you didn't comment about my blog on this actual blog site - you commented on the blog on Tami's FB. Interesting.....

This week our church is asking everyone to fast regarding some key decisions that need to be made. Of course most people give up food for a day or more. But, I wonder if it would be more of a sacrifice for Tami to give up Facebook? Could you easily give up FB for a few days? Honestly? By the way, I don't have a FB account. I simply refuse to personally buy-in to the concept. After all, if I want to see how and what everyone is doing.... I'll simply use Tami's account. And, look for more hints about visiting Jim's blog site.... if Tami will allow me....