It’s been a week since I registered on Facebook and I'm still around. It took me nearly a decade to decide if I wanted to have a presence on the ubiquitous social networking site. Now that I'm on it, I have no opinion, at least for now. It all looks like fun, and a bit of a waste of time. I have connected with family and friends, some known for long, some unknown until now, and we bond by sharing this, that and the other and generally “liking” each other as well as liking the likes. Do two “likes” make an “unlike”?
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I hopped on to the Fb bandwagon out of sheer curiosity. I wanted to see what the fuss was all about. Turns out people aren't fussy on Facebook. They open up but without incriminating themselves. Much of it is banal and commonplace.
Am I already addicted to Fb? No. I visit the site twice or thrice a day as routinely as I’d, say, check my email, surf news sites or hop over to LinkedIn. If I'm addicted to anything, it’s my blog, which along with those published by my blog friends, is a must on my daily virtual itinerary.
Now that I've got unsolicited membership of Facebook and LinkedIn, one personal and the other professional, I’d like to optimise my presence in terms of serious activity; for instance, my writing, as and when it is fit for publishing and publicity. I have got plenty of tips on how to leverage the two sites from a business point of view. Of course, I’ll need a refresher by the time I actually get down to it.
For now, Facebook is like a new toy. I don't know how long it'll hold my interest. At least I'll have had the satisfaction of trying it out.
Is Facebook a part of your life? If yes, do you use it to further your interests as a reader or writer?
Am I already addicted to Fb? No. I visit the site twice or thrice a day as routinely as I’d, say, check my email, surf news sites or hop over to LinkedIn. If I'm addicted to anything, it’s my blog, which along with those published by my blog friends, is a must on my daily virtual itinerary.
Now that I've got unsolicited membership of Facebook and LinkedIn, one personal and the other professional, I’d like to optimise my presence in terms of serious activity; for instance, my writing, as and when it is fit for publishing and publicity. I have got plenty of tips on how to leverage the two sites from a business point of view. Of course, I’ll need a refresher by the time I actually get down to it.
For now, Facebook is like a new toy. I don't know how long it'll hold my interest. At least I'll have had the satisfaction of trying it out.
Is Facebook a part of your life? If yes, do you use it to further your interests as a reader or writer?
I've given up on Facebook and seldom bother with it. I guess if you are running a business or an author, it's important to have Facebook but I've found it to be a big waste of time. There is little of substance on it with everyone "liking" all sorts of trivial stuff. It's good for seeing photos of my granddaughter but I don't use it much at all.
ReplyDeleteI'd rather spend my time reading a book.
I'm on it - not too often, not too active. I'm kind of put off by the amount of info it wants to hoover up regarding my use of other social networks eg Goodreads
ReplyDeleteI mostly use Facebook to keep in touch with family and friends, since life is so hectic and everyone is all over the globe. But I skip past political or very negative posts. It's fun, but pretty shallow most of the time.
ReplyDeleteI'm not on it or any social media platform, don't F-book, don't use Twitter, Instagram, etc. There are too many downsides to social media for me to see any upside for me to participate. The blogs I ead and the people behind them is enough, when added to my analog (real human in person) friends.
ReplyDeleteWelcome Prashant :) I was a pretty early adopter but for a long time used only sporadically - nowadays I mainly use to share photos with family, which is very handy, and of course it to contact all those people who have stopped using email!
ReplyDeleteWhen I first joined facebook I found it helpful in spreading the word about my writing and did see an increase in sales. That has leveled off now because most people who are on my friends list either already have the stuff I've written or don't have any intention of getting it.
ReplyDeleteNot for me. I created one for Pretty Sinister Books when I was regularly selling books online and it was a fizzle. I spent all my time cataloging books and uploading them to various websites, scanning DJs (a laborious process!), managing the sales, and doing all the packing/shipping myself. I rarely remembered to update the Facebook page every time something interesting or new happened in my book finds and sales. Anyway, it all seemed redundant and in the end I thought it all rather pointless. I simply didn't care who "liked" the page or not. I lost interest within a matter of months and I tried to close my account. But I learned you can't quit Facebook altogether. You can only take your page offline as "unpublished". That bothers me a lot.
ReplyDeleteI agree with everything that Richard said above. I think that people like me who still value their privacy want nothing to do with sites like Facebook which can open up a Pandora's box of troubles. Already I can't stand how Google and other search engines know so much about me and where I go on the internet. I'm not about to let the Big Brother types at Facebook have all that data as well.
I fully reject Fb and Twitter as $$$ con games .... there is too much to lose by surrendering one's self to those social media platforms and obscene money makers. Even as I post this via blogger, I appreciate the irony.
ReplyDeleteI am not interested in Facebook. I can see the uses if family is separated, or if an author needs to have a presence. For me, I think it would be a time waster. I have a hard time fitting in family activities, full time job, and blogging as it is.
ReplyDeleteI am on FB, and use it mostly to put out updates from the blog. But it also useful to keep up with what people are doing - we used to live in America, and I love to read updates from my US friends - it's an easy way to stay in touch. But it's important not to look at it too much, or you can waste time.
ReplyDeleteWalker Martin, Col, Fleur, Richard, Sergio, Charles, John, R.T., Tracy, and Moira: Thank you for your feedback and the diversity of opinion on Facebook.
DeleteI like FB but it does occasionally cause stresses when everyone seems to be having a nice time and I'm not!
ReplyDelete