The most pressing issue of the day

[altariel]

A friend recently suggested that I join Facebook. I was on Facebook at one point, in fact, but it bewildered and slightly irritated me, so I deleted my account. I didn't want to play Scrabble, and I kept on getting things thrown at me, and while I'm working I try not to be online, so I don't have windows open with Twitter, IM, LJ, etc. etc. (Because I find them addictive and I'd play with them rather than work.) So I'm not clear how I'd integrate it into my working day or indeed my life.

But then I know that's just me being crusty and bad-tempered and reclusive, all my least attractive qualities. Not to mention indecisive, so I'm putting it to you, friends list:

[Poll #1421396]

Please feel free to tell me why or why not.

Twitter is out, though.

Unless someone can give me a really good reason.

Comments

[glitterboy1.livejournal.com]

At one point, I was trying to keep up with Facebook - all the updates, applications, etc etc. But work means large swathes of time when I just can't be checking things all the time, and it ended up being stressful for no particular benefit.

Now, I do little or nothing with all of the 'applications'; I rarely update my status; and I'm patchy at checking other people's updates. So my page isn't much more than a placeholder. But I keep it partly because people occasionally post photos there, and mostly because there are two or three people with whom I've made contact again through FB - people of whom I've thought over the years 'I wonder what happened to X; I suppose I've no way of ever finding out'. And I'm pleased that that's happened.

[manna]

But then I know that's just me being crusty and bad-tempered and reclusive, all my least attractive qualities.

Eh? Since when did crusty, bad-tempered and reclusive become bad qualities?

[altariel.livejournal.com]

Oh, you know, when they're the only qualities I ever exhibit...!

[altariel.livejournal.com]

I have to say it's chiefly the thought of yet another place to keep track of that puts me off.

[altariel.livejournal.com]

Twitter fills me with horror, to be honest, down to the name. The thought of constant chirping... leave me alone...!!! I do have a page at MySpace, because it's a good way to follow bands I'm interested in. But I only go there every so often.

[kerravonsen]

And I totally agree with you there. Why should you have to add another time-drain to your life? I certainly don't intend to join Facebook or MySpace.

[trixieleitz]

I seem to have read an awful lot about how various people use Facebook, and none of it has said to me, "Hey! You should use it, too!" (is likewise crusty and reclusive)

[altariel.livejournal.com]

Perhaps it's an extravert thing? Still, I'm umming and ahing, because it appears to be a good place to have a professional presence.

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

Since I haven't got the faintest idea what the heck Facebook is, I'm probably not really fit to vote. ;)

[altariel.livejournal.com]

The only reason would be to have a professional presence. I have a page at MySpace to keep up with bands I like, but I don't go there very often.

[altariel.livejournal.com]

Oh! An online social networking site.

[altariel.livejournal.com]

Benefit of being an inveterate skim-reader: my eye slides past those posts on LJ. MySpace is horrendously ugly, although I do like being able to sample music by bands I've heard on the radio etc. and see if I want to lay out money for more.

[thanatos-kalos.livejournal.com]

I've been pondering Facebook myself-- the conference had a page, and I check it occasionally, but it was nowhere near as helpful as the conference LJ or the various other bits and pieces we had scattered around the net. But it does seem like it's more trouble than it's worth. Plus, FB operates on the assumption that one wants to be found, which isn't always the case.

I'm pondering twitter, too, if only because then I can stop spamming LJ and/or my friends via text with these random thoughts I keep having. :P

[paranoidangel]

There's nothing useful that Facebook does. It just sends you emails to tell you you have emails there (why do people not just send an email and save time and effort?) and although there might be interesting discussions on the groups there's no way of telling if there's ever anything new posted.

The only reason I haven't deleted mine is that they give me no confidence at all that they'll actually delete it - and when I tried to delete it they just made my profile visible to the whole world during the two weeks it sits in suspended status before it actually gets deleted. So now I just ignore it instead and anyone that uses it to contact me, ignoring the message that tells them not to, has clearly failed my intelligence test and therefore I don't need to speak to them :)

[kendokamel.livejournal.com]

I wouldn't necessarily say, "Yay, Facebook!" but I've come to tolerate it - especially since it's the only social networking modality that a few of my friends use. (Whyyyyy can't they see the wonder and joy that is LiveJournal?)

Anyway... I was about to give up on FB until I learned how to block stuff.

If someone throws something at you, or tries to engage you in anything like a pillow fight or mafia wars or silly quizzes, if you hover your mouse to the right of that line item on the page, you'll see a little pop-up that says, "Block [friend name]" and "Block [Name of Application]". This also works if you get an invitation to get involved with something that uses an application, and it shows up on your invitation/friend request screen. There is a button that says, "Block this application".

True, there are new ones always popping up, but it has SIGNIFICANTLY lowered the spam on my page and I can actually keep up with what my friends are saying.

[altariel.livejournal.com]

I also thought I was going to have a massive hassle deleting my page at FB, but they were onto it straight away, and also very friendly about it. I've no idea what data they kept, though.

[ithilwen.livejournal.com]

You've tried it, you didn't like it. Seems to me you've already answered the question. It's not like your friends who are online-savvy can't reach you via LJ, after all.

[ex-naomi-ja.livejournal.com]

The only thing you need to know is: Facebook has a Pirate English setting.

[altariel.livejournal.com]

AAAARRRR!

[altariel.livejournal.com]

Heh, yes, good point.

[ex-naomi-ja.livejournal.com]

Exactly!

[acesspadesdice.livejournal.com]

I said nay! But I'm on it myself-all it seems to be good or is finding long lost friends. The rest is rubish.

[azalaisdep.livejournal.com]

The poll didn't have a Sitting on the Fence option, which is where I am re Facebook!

Like you I keep wondering whether I should be on it for work purposes, but I think it would actually be more useful for the Library itself to be on it (the British Library's got a Facebook page, after all! I am always amused to see it's described as female)

Snag is, lots of my family and some friends are on it obsessively, so I suspect they'd want to keep contacting me socially, which would either get undesirably mixed up with the work things (I like to keep work and social life in very separate boxes), or people would get irritated with me for ignoring them.

I also like to keep RL/non-pseudonymous uses of Teh Interweb very separate from fandom ones, so all the fun stuff would continue to be on LJ anyway ;-)

Sorry, that's no help, is it?

(I do know the Resident Geek eventually caved and got a Facebook page, mostly to see what other people were up to, but he keeps all the alerts turned off so AFAIK it doesn't impinge on his online existence too much. Also means even if I were to join I couldn't give him virtual pokes to get him to load the dishwasher, etc, so there's another use eliminated ;-) )

[mistraltoes.livejournal.com]

If it irritates you, my answer is definitely no. There are plenty of places it's helpful for a writer to have a professional presence, and you can't keep up with all of them. Stick to the ones you can use effectively; anything else just saps the energy you need for writing. IMO.

[altariel.livejournal.com]

Good advice. Also - fabulous icon!