So being in marketing, I’m always looking for a new way to market my books. I need to understand where people are going to talk, to exchange ideas, to swap stories. And of course, a big part of that happens online. I’ve got MySpace down. I have a Friendster profile left over from before that was passé. I’ve been on Gather, because they’re an especially book-friendly site. I’ve logged onto Second Life, but haven’t been able to go so far as creating an avatar. And of course, the site everyone’s talking about these days—Facebook.
But I’ve got a confession to make. And it’s not pretty. Facebook makes me feel old. I just… don’t… get… it. At first I made excuses. It’s just because I’m new to it. It’ll all make sense. But it’s been a while. And it still doesn’t. Stuff shows up on my profile, and I can’t figure out why. People email me things that I have to sign up for. And at first I just said no to everything. No, no, no. But then I realized I wasn’t learning anything that way. So I started accepting these requests. And they’re confusing. Worse, they’re not grammatically correct. I got this message today:
”Added you to one of circles. Which circle do you want to put in?”
Seriously, that’s not English!! It looks like something my barely literate super would post on a sign in our laundry room.
I’m not happy, my friends. I feel the way my mom must have felt back when I was trying to teach her how to program the VCR. It gives me sensory overload, that same slightly panicked, out-of-control, I’m-out-of-my-element feeling I get in Best Buy and Home Depot. I briefly considered begging one of my friends for a tutorial, but then I realized that would officially make me pathetic. And that’s not an admission I’m willing to make yet.
I’ve heard that you have two choices in life: to master that which intimidates you, or to have it master you. But I disagree. I think there’s also a third option. To abandon the attempt entirely and pretend that it never mattered to you in the first place. And right now, that option is looking VERY attractive. 
p.s. If you didn't click on the link to my MySpace profile, go do it. Now. My profile song would make my top songs of all times list. But that's another blog...
Friday, January 11, 2008
Why I Hate Facebook
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
9 comments:
haha! I feel the same way about most of the online sites. I either feel too old or feel like maybe they are in my age group but I don't feel like I belong. So..I've given up hope on all but myspace. I only keep that one because of a second cousin, we use that to communicate and share pictures.
I develop websites for a living and I don't like myspace and I've never been on facebook. I've been asked to help with a family member's myspace account but I get so frustrated. I'm used to delivering filet mignon and it's like someone asked me to do it with a toaster. I have no patience for it. Myspace was written in the language I program in, I create applications just as complex, but I get on myspace and I can't figure out how to do something that I could accomplish anywhere else in five minutes flat.
oh god, i am so un-hip about those sites. one of my co-workers was showing mer her myspace page the other day and said she would set one up for me. i'm such an old lady!
have you heard of shelfari? i'm sure you have. it's kind of cool for bookworms like us.
I used to be all over facebook, I thought it was for college students only, so I was all over it in college. But it started getting too wacky, all the new updates and yada yada. Moods? what the fuck? I'm going to update my mood to show on my profie? Mysapce has that option now, too, if I remember correctly. Let me tell you something - if I had to keep my mood updated, I'd have to get a blackberry. My mood changes every 3 1.2 seconds, roughly.
Whatever, I agree, Bookgirl. Facebook sucks. I feel like myspace is easier, but again, I keep it simple. No created layouts at the l factors myspace. Now I'm going to go request you as a friend!
Uhhh, whats facebook?
See how out of touch I am?
But...I am about to purchase a blackberry to replace my chocolate, so maybe I'm not as unhip as I thought.
Thank you for saying it! FACEBOOK is a major head scratch. And that poking nonsense! WTF! If you want to say hello, then freaking say it, rather than poke crap out of me! Most people hate being poked in person, so why would they like it online? Annoying. BUT, I will mention the positive side of FB and the CrackSpace, in reuniting me with people I didn't mind being back in touch with.
j - Facebook is the college version of myspace, except now it's branched out and it's not just college kids anymore. This is all I can tell you since I've never been on it myself. I'm not even curious. Second Life has me curious, a bit scared, but curious.
Thanks Diosa. I'm not even on myspace. I tried for a couple of weeks at the request of my brother and some cousins back in RI/MA, but just couldn't be bothered to deal with spam and friend invites filled with ads for porn. *yawn*
new post. new post. new post.
Post a Comment