Throughly fed-up with Facebook

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AlanD
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Joined: 27 Mar 2008, 1:29pm
Location: South Oxfordshire

Throughly fed-up with Facebook

Post by AlanD »

I really never wanted to go near it at first and could not see the point of it anyway. Then the IT Cyber Security man did a presentation at work on such computer matters, quite an eye-opener. He advised us all to register with FB so as to eliminate the possibility of someone else using a different name and all the confusion that could cause. "Just don't post any pictures of yourself lying drunk and face down in the gutter with your trousers around your ankles" he said. "Employers do use it to check up on their staff and candidates" and so I registered.

I can see that posting a message to everyone in a group can have its advantages, but I am so flabbergasted at the sheer mind numbing level of trivia. For ages I did not even look at it at all. I just posted some pictures relating to my hobbies and left it at that. Then in my e-mail account I started getting notifications of complete strangers wanting to be my friends. Also "Person A is now friends with person B". Well the last week I did decide to start using FB because I am doing a charity event and I want sponsorship. but no sooner do I put something down under the heading of 'What's on your mind', than someone I know finds it vitally important to share something really banal such as "I've reached a million points", "I have set up a flower stall in the market, come and buy flowers from me" (I soon twigged that this was some 'second life/sims' type networked computer game). "I have just mowed the lawn" (Who cares!) "I just found a golden egg in my chicken coop". "here's a picture of what's on my BBQ" and so on and so on.

The net result of this is that whilst I am trying to promote something important and life improving, no sooner do I try to nudge hands to reach for wallets to help those less fortunate..... it is immediately buried by others who have nothing more important going on in their lives than to broadcast waves of verbal diarrhoea. I even tried to fight fire with fire, so to speak, with daily postings along the lines of how the ride to work went - dont forget to sponsor me. Just cleaned the bike - dont forget to sponsor me. Come and see me off tomorrow - dont forget to sponsor me. Well I could not sustain this tactic and I still have only a miserly pittance in my justgiving account. Think I'll just put some money in myself and forget that it's supposed to be a sponsored ride. As for FB, Pah! Clearly it's for those that don't know what real life is. cycling is much more fun.

Alan (Woke up at 3, hot sweaty and brain racing with thoughts of today's ride)
P.S. If anyone does feel generous, you should have no trouble finding the link that I posted.
MikeMarsUK
Posts: 96
Joined: 1 Dec 2009, 8:28pm

Re: Throughly fed-up with Facebook

Post by MikeMarsUK »

For unwanted notifications in your news feed, hover your mouse over the upper-right hand corner of the notification, 'hide' should appear. Click it, and you should be offered 3 buttons - hide <person>, hide <application>, cancel. Click hide <application> and confirm. Don't click hide <person>. I have hundreds of applications hidden and it makes my feed much clearer.
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dkmwt
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Joined: 15 Jun 2007, 11:02am
Location: Plymouth

Re: Throughly fed-up with Facebook

Post by dkmwt »

Cheers for the tip MikeMars, last time I tired to hide it would only hide the person, that was ages ago.
Cheers, Donald
Trice "Qnt 26" 26/39/55 F 10sp 11/36 R, now with Windwrap fairing.
ICE B1 34/50 F Capreo 9/32 R.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/dkmwt/78674512/
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1188814973
glueman
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Joined: 16 Mar 2007, 1:22pm

Re: Throughly fed-up with Facebook

Post by glueman »

The whole Facebook/Twitter thing leaves me cold, if not slightly alarmed. I can see the value in a good Blog but life is for living, not anally retaining or regurgitating.
Nutsey
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Joined: 19 Apr 2010, 3:31pm

Re: Throughly fed-up with Facebook

Post by Nutsey »

I've set mine up so that I can snoop on others as much as I like, but all everyone else can do to me is send me a private message. They can't see my pics, status, 'wall' or any other nonsense.
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simonineaston
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Joined: 9 May 2007, 1:06pm
Location: ...at a cricket ground

Re: Throughly fed-up with Facebook

Post by simonineaston »

I really don't like FB, and won't use it (although I registered)...
Here's a few reasons:
    Who cares what someone I hardly know fancies for breakfast.
    I don't want organisations I know nothing about closely examining the trail of data I'd leave behind if I used FB regularly
    Small bits of my life are Great and worth remembering; a lot of life isn't so great and is best forgotten - FB won't let you...
trouble is a lot of friends do use it and so I kind-of feel left out. Ho Hum. :roll:
S
(on the look out for Armageddon, on board a Brompton nano & ever-changing Moultons)
thirdcrank
Posts: 36776
Joined: 9 Jan 2007, 2:44pm

Re: Throughly fed-up with Facebook

Post by thirdcrank »

Throughly fed-up with Facebook
:shock:

I'm still at the stage of wondering what it is :oops: so you are well in front of me on GC 8)
JohnW
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Joined: 6 Jan 2007, 9:12pm
Location: Yorkshire

Re: Throughly fed-up with Facebook

Post by JohnW »

thirdcrank wrote:
Throughly fed-up with Facebook
:shock:

I'm still at the stage of wondering what it is :oops: so you are well in front of me on GC 8)


Stop wondering about it tc - time is much better spent on cleaning your bike - or even picking your nose.

I think that glueman has it right (above).

I've never had anything to do with it - heaven forbid - but so many people, particularly youngsters, seem to have no other topic of conversation. The guy who said that facebook is a bad substitute for living real life was on the right lines.
Tako
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Joined: 5 Jun 2007, 4:50pm
Location: UK-HK

Re: Throughly fed-up with Facebook

Post by Tako »

I call it faceache! The whole internet has changed our experience and methods of communication and not for the better l think. My niece is constantly on it, chatting, twittering, etc, with her cousin and mates, but when you get them in the same room, they don't talk!
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simonineaston
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Location: ...at a cricket ground

Re: Throughly fed-up with Facebook

Post by simonineaston »

Tako wrote:... but when you get them in the same room, they don't talk!

How ironic! Only goes to make a comment about the value of, and meaning behind, the phrase 'face-to-face'. Must admit I sometimes do find it easier to comment on something 'on-line', hiding, I guess, behind the anonymity of the 'net. But back to FB... Agree with everyone who said they think they'd be better off spending their time doing something more concrete, like err, maybe cycling!
S
(on the look out for Armageddon, on board a Brompton nano & ever-changing Moultons)
eileithyia
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Joined: 31 Jan 2007, 6:46pm
Location: Horwich Which is Lancs :-)

Re: Throughly fed-up with Facebook

Post by eileithyia »

There are some upsides; I have rediscovered some old school friends (I moved away from Coventry years ago and lost touch).
When on long term sick leave i could keep in touch with both work colleagues and some of my cycling friends who are not on other forums.
We are now so busy at work that often the only way to keep up with work colleagues is via FB as we never have any time for a "gossip" at work.
Again I live away from family, so it is a quick way to keep in touch/receive photos etc., and does not pour money into the coffers of BT/Orange/or whatever other network.

I have never had "friend" requests from people unknown to me, but then maybe I just know too many people in the cycling world.......
I stand and rejoice everytime I see a woman ride by on a wheel the picture of free, untrammeled womanhood. HG Wells
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Millhouse
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Joined: 27 Sep 2007, 8:24pm
Location: Clitheroe, Lancashire.

Re: Throughly fed-up with Facebook

Post by Millhouse »

I too was very sceptical about facebook, then one of the members of my cycling club spent several weeks cycling in South America, several different countries and up, along and over the Andes.
It was fantastic to keep up with his posts on Facebook, photographs taken that day and a full account of his adventures, brilliant, and a lot quicker than a postcard!
Several other cycling friends use it and post photographs of their tours etc.
Yes there is some crud on there but it's easy to ignore and also easy to choose who you want to be 'friends' with.
I enjoy it, but if it becomes the case that I don't I will exit myself!
Anura
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Joined: 5 Aug 2008, 3:18pm
Location: Near Risley Moss Warrington

Re: Throughly fed-up with Facebook

Post by Anura »

I registered with fb a while ago and can concur with the views above when reading trivia from people at work who were supposed to be off with depression yet had the interest to post utter drivel on there. So I hid that person. Anyone else who annoys me in that way gets hidden. All my photos are friends only, which took me ages to find.

I also keep in touch with people abroad, some of my 'ex' relatives who although I might send an occasional email, it's so easy just to put a few words down. I very rarely post what I'm doing as I wonder really who the heck is interested in my fairly mundane life. So I just treat it as a group email!
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meic
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Re: Throughly fed-up with Facebook

Post by meic »

I joined up with Facebook because some friends of mine were communicating on it and to join up would keep me in the loop. In practice they had sent two messages and havent bothered since, nor have I. :)

I cant help but think that criticising Facebook while using the CTC Forum is possibly hypocritical and at least not seeing the soot on our own bottoms. :lol:
Yma o Hyd
JohnW
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Joined: 6 Jan 2007, 9:12pm
Location: Yorkshire

Re: Throughly fed-up with Facebook

Post by JohnW »

meic wrote:I joined up with Facebook because some friends of mine were communicating on it and to join up would keep me in the loop. In practice they had sent two messages and havent bothered since, nor have I. :)

I cant help but think that criticising Facebook while using the CTC Forum is possibly hypocritical and at least not seeing the soot on our own bottoms. :lol:


If you have soot on your bottom meic, what kind of a saddle have you got? - and boy have you been pedaling fast!
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