To "Facebook" or not to "Facebook"...THAT is the question.
So, I know many of you are already on Facebook. (Is that even what you say? On?) I have been very skeptical because I'm not sure I WANT ol' Jon Doe from high school "finding" me. Nor do I really care what Janis from Science class is up to. I feel like those I have wanted to keep in contact with over the years I already have and those I don't, I'm not missin' much... but then...
EVERYONE has been telling me how great it is and yada yada yada...
So here's my question to all you "BLOGGERS" out there...
Is it really any better or that different from blogging? Will I become an addict like many of you I know ARE (yes, you know who you are...an intervention soon to follow...)
Tell me your thoughts everyone...before I fall victim...
14 comments:
I have had the same thoughts. I have heard Facebook described as a big Human Trading Card Collection Game. You collect people and then sit there looking at each other. Blogging seems so much funner with its pictures and stories. PLUS, like you, I don't want an ex-boyfriend to find me! I don't want to be stalked! I'm not going on there, even though the rest of the world already did.
As you know, I'm already an addict and think it's so much fun. I've been able to quickly catch up with family members who live across the nation and old friends who I've just never gotten around to calling. I think it's way more fun than blogging because it changes all the time and something new is always going on. Hope you join us! And nobody "stalks" you because you totally choose who you invite to see your facebook page and photos. It's not that big of a deal. If you don't like it, you can cancel your account in one button. Plus, you don't have to put any personal info about yourself.
Laurel, I thought you'd be one who WOULD like it! You're as addicted to blogging as I am! I hear Facebook is even better! New things are constantly popping up! Maybe I'm wrong?
I was recently convinced by my two much "hipper" sisters to open an account. I did. Here is my take (for what it is worth.) I wouldn't say that Facebook is better or worse than blogging. They are very different. Blogging is much more "wordy" than Facebook. I like it because it allows you to tell a story with pictures and words. Facebook exists on snippets of what is going on--snippets that I don't usually blog about (my blog is definitely more photo oriented.) I have enjoyed Facebook because it has allowed me to reconnect with some friends and roommates that I should have kept in better touch with, but didn't. Some of them found me, and some I sought out. I have had a few people ask to become "friends" with me that I really didn't have a huge desire to reconnect with. But, I haven't regretted any yet.
When I first signed up, I signed up with just my current first and last name--no maiden name. I liked it because not many random people from High School contacted me because they didn't know my married name. I have since added my maiden name because I sought out a few friends from college that also wouldn't remember my married name and I wasn't sure if they would recognize my picture (the problem with being 15 years out of college.) I still post some of my pictures to Facebook. I also merged it with my GoodReads account (a nice feature) and you can set Facebook to automatically import your blog posts also, so that it is a little more blog-like.
I need to stop typing now before people have to scroll 5 minutes to see the other comments. Sorry!
I'm on facebook, but would hardly call myself an addict. It is a tremendous time-waster from my perspective. I agree with the privacy concerns you have (as evidenced by my private blog) but so far as I can tell, you can set it to be such that no one can view your profile without "asking you" to be friends with them. If you don't know them or aren't interested, you can just ignore them! I'm a scrapbooker, so blogging seems a lot "cleaner" to me, and Facebook is a TON to try to look at and organize with your eyes. There is also a lot of "junk" that I don't participate in...different applications that are offered through facebook, etc.... good luck with your decision!
2 words: Run Away!
Don't get sucked in. Or if you do, make sure you have plenty of money set aside to pay for the therapy your kids will need in later years, as they try to understand why their mom spent more time with her computer than she did with them. :-)
I get requests from people all the time to start a Facebook account. I haven't set up an account yet, but from what I have seen of Facebook I think I like blogger better. Plus, then that would be one more thing I would have to update and well I spend too much time blogging as it is.
I've recently joined Facebook, and I, too, have mixed opinions. It does add another "thing" to do on the computer, but there are friends from home and a lot of relatives on there that don't blog. There are a lot of Eddington cousins on Facebook, too.
Also, I don't want to be one of those clueless parents with teenagers. If I stay with the times, maybe I'll be able to keep up and know what my teenagers are into, when the time comes (much sooner than I'd like).
Facebook isn't blogging, by any means, and I've ignored some friend requests just because I wouldn't know what to say to them. And, like you've already heard, only those you have invited to be friends can view your profile. Just allow one evening a week for Facebook, and keep the rest for blogging. :)
Here's an article that Darren and I have totally agreed with:
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Too much time on Facebook could mean not enough time with the most important relationship of your life.
Matt Townsend, KSL relationship coach, says social networking sites can be a nice way to reconnect with old friends, but you have to be careful not to let it interfere with your marriage.
Townsend has some suggestions for Facebook use. First, make rules together. Second, be transparent.
"The problem with it is, you can do this so freely. You can get on Facebook and kind of dig and keep looking, maybe do some flirty chat. The minute you do something you wouldn't want your partner to see, you've crossed the line," Townsend explained.
Third, no exes on Facebook!!! Don't even friend someone you once wanted to date. Fourth, create and honor couple time. Fifth, make a schedule and limit your time online.
"(Facebook is) a great new dynamic. It's keeping people together, (but) it's starting to numb you and maybe suck you away from the relationships that really matter most," Townsend said.
Sixth, talk to your partner about what you are finding on Facebook. And seventh, listen to your partner's concerns.
"If your partner is complaining about it, it is a problem," Townsend said. "Even if you don't feel like it's a problem, it's a problem for your partner. And if it's a problem for your partner, it's a problem for your marriage."
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Hope this helps you decide, Tara!
You can set your privacy settings to not be so searchable. You also have the choice to approve or deny friend requests, and with everything you post you can choose if it's viewable by everyone, your networks, or only people on your friend list. If I haven't talked to you in 10 years (with maybe 2 exceptions) than you don't need to know where I am.
Blogger is fun, but so is facebook. Facebook is good when you have like 5 minutes and no more. I do prefer FB to MySpace, but in addition to blogs.
I like blogging better. I still don't get all the excitment over it. Yes, I have connected with a few people I thought were gone forever :), but I don't think it is anything to sneeze at. I do not spend very much time on it just cuz I don't think it is worth it. But when someone comments on it, it sends an email to me. So I usually only check it when I know someone has commented or something. I think you could sdo it without spending a bunch of time on it. Again, blogging I think is way better.
Wow- and I was just thinking of joining so I could keep track of my 14 yr. old- Maybe it's to complicated for me. Good Luck!
I have had the same dilemma. My sister in law wants me to join, but I don't think that I will. I really don't want to re-connect with anyone from High School. Bit i know that it's by invitation only, so it's probably as safe as anything.
One word of warning--I do know several people that have gotten horrible computer viruses from facebook, so be careful.
I recently joined Facebook. It was a lot of fun at first as I was gathering my "Human Trading Cards", as Laurel puts it. But now that I've seen who's aged and who hasn't, I'm at a loss of what to do on it. I like that it has a way to search for people, but beyond that it just seems to be a giant chat world. It's fun to get on once in a while, but I don't see myself getting addicted. My advice...set up an account, find old friends that you care about, tell them your blog address, and then cancel your account. :)
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