Facebook - the bad side.

saracelica

saracelica

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saracelica
[vent]So Facebook. It's popular with most people under 60. (At least from my experience) but why do people feel a need to "Advertise" they are thousands of miles away from home. One of my friends lives in Cleveland and she just posted "Finally in the mountains!" and "Camping at theodore roosevelt national park in north dakota---"

Really does she not realize people can find out since it's on the INTERNET.

[/vent off]
 
I knew there was a website that did it and couldn't remember. I post about my expeditions AFTER the fact. It's just as cool to say "I went to Florida" then to say "I'm on my way to Florida"
 
I'm with you on that. I am one of the approximately four people without a Facebook account simply because I have no desire to post my minute by minute movements and activities for the world to view. My wife, who updates probably about every two minutes as the iphone hardly leaves her hand, is frequently complaining about meddlesome comments from family members on her FB page. My response is always along the lines of "well if you weren't posting your business on FB..."
 
Yep, it's been an issue for a long time. FB just makes it worse.

*IF* you set your privacy options correctly on FB (and MOST people don't), it's far less risky to post your schedule there than it is to post to open forums like this one. If you leave piracy options open to the world on FB, then there's a much higher risk there.
 
Don't get me wrong I "like" Facebook. (hopefully I don't get sued for using that word without permission) it's nice to know my friends are enjoying their lives and to know what's going on. I can't even tell you the last time I called one of my friends. :) I only use my phone to call my parents who REFUSE to be on Facebook because they don't care what is going on in other people's lives. But to see pics of my cousins and whatnot is a benefit to Facebook
 
I like Facebook, but I don't post about trips until I'm home! I posted about a part time job opening this afternoon on my page and I've gotten at least 10 responses! :D I gave my work email, which I don't check from home, so I probably have more responses waiting in the morning.:D
I'm not one that posts my daily activities, just when something neat or exciting is happening, like hitting a buzzard.;)
 
During one of my overseas trips, a friend of my wife posted a message, viewable to all, on her Facebook wall saying something about me coming home from Afghanistan in a week or whatever. My wife went ballistic and, as you might guess, strained their friendship. While it is no secret that I work overseas a lot, my wife never advertises that fact. For my part, I al ost never post on Facebook anyway.
 
saracelica said:
[vent]So Facebook. It's popular with most people under 60. (At least from my experience) but why do people feel a need to "Advertise" they are thousands of miles away from home. One of my friends lives in Cleveland and she just posted "Finally in the mountains!" and "Camping at theodore roosevelt national park in north dakota---"

Really does she not realize people can find out since it's on the INTERNET.

[/vent off]
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It is the narcissistic society we live in today. "Everything I do is more important that the things you do."
 
if you don't post about your whereabouts until you are home - then you are pretty safe since my labrador retriever barks at anyone who comes on the property and charges them . . .. he might be a lab at the end of the day but the average burglar does not know that.
 
I smirk ironically at folks I know who complain the loudest about how much our privacy gets invaded by various entities, yet they are some of the most prolific contributors to the Facebook-osphere.
 
Yeah I get the whole point of Facebook and sure it's a convienent way of telling your family and friends what's going on.

But, it IS the Internet. You may not WANT everyone to know who you are, where you are, what you are doing, who you are doing, or what you plan to do.

No thank you.
 
You mean there is a good side to Facebook? Not one that I've noticed.
 
Like any other technology, Facebook gives folks the ability to hurt themselves with it. Set your privacy preferences to "Friends", and be careful of who your freinds are, and you're "reasonably" secure. More secure than you are posting here, since the forums are publicly viewable.
 
I had to get on FB to watch what my son is up to!
 
TMetzinger said:
Like any other technology, Facebook gives folks the ability to hurt themselves with it. Set your privacy preferences to "Friends", and be careful of who your freinds are, and you're "reasonably" secure. More secure than you are posting here, since the forums are publicly viewable.
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I assume anything Internet is searchable and public. That's why I'm always Sac Arrow, and never my given name, Hugh G. Reckson.
 
Manage your information, just like anything else. 'Tis the Information Age. Your government does it to you all the time.

(On big news days, dig harder and you'll find all the stories they didn't want to get headlines. And "take out the trash Friday" when everyone's in a good mood and thinking about their weekend plans. Hiding information in plain sight and disinformation are what political managers are hired to do, these days.)

I may post while we aren't home, I may post after we get back. I may post that we're not home when we are. You just never know. ;)

There's other criteria that come into play too, which I will not divulge. Good neighbors help too.

We had some azzhat multi-time offender try to kill an 80+ year old lady a few years back... He was going door to door selling magazine subscriptions and she somehow tripped his broken mental trigger. He broke her neck and left her for dead.

She recovered and since then, our neighborhood is exceedingly hostile toward door to door salespeople and we typically "meet" in the street regularly and have a good chuckle about how fast we drove the latest ones off, on a regular basis. We also are pretty observant and ask about anyone we see who doesn't normally belong in here.

We also all know each other well, which is exceedingly rare these days in many neighborhoods.

The really awesome part? We do it all without any overbearing, lame, busybody Homeowner's Association.

Our HA does what HA's should, throw Easter Egg hunts for the kiddos, Dumpster Days to make sure everyone dumps stuff they need to get rid of, repair and maintenance of fences along public access edges, plant flowers, all that stuff. No "Archetectural Board" or lawyers or management companies or any of that crap.

If we don't like something a neighbor does to their house, we just say, "Bob, that pink siding really looks like crap man. I'll bring over the beer if you want help repainting."

Old school, low pressure, but you're going to hear it from EVERYONE. When my front lawn died in a drought, I was seriously sick of hearing about it by the time I got the quotes done and the new sod laid. ;)
 
denverpilot said:
When my front lawn died in a drought, I was seriously sick of hearing about it by the time I got the quotes done and the new sod laid. ;)
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A couple gallons of Round-Up for your neighbors' yards would have saved you some money. It'll all grow back eventually.

:D
 
DaleB said:
You mean there is a good side to Facebook? Not one that I've noticed.
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I'm always amused by statements like "Facebook sucks". As with any other tool, it's all in how you use it.

When we moved 1300 miles away from anyone we knew on the planet, Facebook enabled us to keep close and in touch with our son, our best friends, and a host of other relatives and acquaintances. In the olden days (you know, five years ago?) we all would have simply "lost touch". Now? It's almost like we never left.

For my daughter this was especially helpful. Moving in the middle of your high school "career" is always tough, but with Facebook and Skype, she was able to maintain contact with all of her high school friends back in Iowa. This made the transition MUCH easier.

Does Facebook get silly sometimes? Sure. But it's a great social tool that has changed the way we live.
 
Geico266 said:
It is the narcissistic society we live in today. "Everything I do is more important that the things you do."
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I enjoy Facebook and use it every day. I like reading about what my FB friends are doing and seeing their photos... and (I hope) they want to read about what I'm doing, not because whatever it is is more important than what they or anyone else is doing but because I know every one of them and care about what they are doing. I still have a low enough number of friends so as to be able to get through my "News Feed" fairly quickly when I check messages... how those people with 822 friends (or more) do it, I'm not sure. :eek:

It's all about what you enjoy doing... and I know FB can be a time-waster. But, it's still fun for me. When it's not fun anymore, I'll quit spending time there. I can stop anytime I want to... Really I can. :rolleyes:
 
Dean said:
It's evil, stay away, it will control your life!:eek:
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Thanks for the warning, but since I already have work, flying, PoA, and Crusty the Clown controlling my life, this "Facebook" would have to get in line.
 
Jim Logajan said:
Thanks for the warning, but since I already have work, flying, PoA, and Crusty the Clown controlling my life, this "Facebook" would have to get in line.
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You mean you haven't had your 'puter on with one window open unto each one of those things up there?? (Not sure if Crusty has his own website, but even that's possible!) FB could just be another window open and there's always room on the taskbar for just one more. :rolleyes:
 
After takng a couple burglary reports a week for the last 23 years, I don't think that is how burglars find their victims. Almost all are more random. They work in mid-day when people are most likely to be gone and look for houses with security issues: Concealed side or back entrances, unlocked windows, etc. They'll often just go up to a house at random, knock, and if no one answers, let themselves in. Remember, these guys are meth and heroin addicts. They are double-digit IQ people with large amounts of chemical-tainted drugs boring holes in their brains. Keep your Facebook privacy settings tight, don't friend any dopers and your updates won't lead to burglary.
 
My last facebook status says something like "Won't be posting to FB any longer. If you know me, you know how to contact me."
 
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I should put up a FB page to publicize my books, but I just haven't been able to bring my self to do it.
 
wsuffa said:
Yep, it's been an issue for a long time. FB just makes it worse.

*IF* you set your privacy options correctly on FB (and MOST people don't), it's far less risky to post your schedule there than it is to post to open forums like this one. If you leave piracy options open to the world on FB, then there's a much higher risk there.
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:yeahthat:
I post Nothing - absolutely NOTHING - publicly. The only people on my friend list are people I have known face to face, other than a few that I friended for various reasons - and they are on the acquaintance list, and I frequently use the "Friends except acquaintances" security setting for posts.
 
When you have kids in far away places it is nice to stay in touch with them. FB makes that easy, pictures notes in PM that sort of stuff.

It's all about managing your friends list.

Skype is great too.
 
Bailey said:
I'm with you on that. I am one of the approximately four people without a Facebook account simply because I have no desire to post my minute by minute movements and activities for the world to view.
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you, me, and who are the other two?

:)
 
Bob Noel said:
you, me, and who are the other two?

:)
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I'm one. So there's one unaccounted for.

I'm always a little puzzled by the "We would lose touch with our kids, friends and relatives if it weren't for Facebook" stuff. What, they have FB accounts but no one has a phone, email, or a flippin' mailing address?
 
DaleB said:
I'm one. So there's one unaccounted for.

I'm always a little puzzled by the "We would lose touch with our kids, friends and relatives if it weren't for Facebook" stuff.
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We wouldn't, it simply easier. I do recall the day when we would number our letters so they could be read in the proper order, because we got 10-20 at a time snail mail.
 
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