4 ms·

I never went in - i still don't understand the point of FB or others of their ilk. If i really want to keep in touch with far-flung family, friends - i pick up

by ivenkys 16y ago

I never went in - i still don't understand the point of FB or others of their ilk. If i really want to keep in touch with far-flung family, friends - i pick up the phone or drop an email. If they are important to me i will make the effort. I also don't find the need to advertise on a daily/hourly basis what i am doing or tell people about the cool car/bike/tv/ipod etc. i bought. May be its just not for people like me.

Legion 16y ago
Facebook is highly efficient for communicating with a large number of "fringe" acquaintances. Things you suggest - picking up the phone, dropping an email - require 1-on-1 contact. I am limited in the amount of time I can devote to 1-on-1 contact. But I can post on Facebook and people that know me but aren't necessarily people I want to devote a lot of 1-on-1 time to - more distant relatives, old friends, etc. - can see what I want to share. And I can skim my feed and see what they want to share. The level of time and contact is proportional to the relationship. They're not my inner circle, they're outer circle. Facebook is the single best improvement to my "outer circle" relationships ever invented. For low effort, I get to have some contact instead of no contact. For some people, Facebook is all about the time wasting activities, but that's not the core of the experience unless you make it so.
- ivenkys 16y ago
  I can see your point but my take is - that's what New Year, Christmas, ${Special_Occasion} are for, keeping in touch with fringe acquaintances. Send an email on those days.
Asa-Nisse 16y ago
I too was a FB-absente for a long time, but a friend of mine (non techie) explained its usefulness to me in a very good way. "It lets you keep updated on what your aquintances does on a daily basis". Not your good friends (because you call them). Not your collegagues (because you chat/mail them). But all those highschool and childhood friends you dont see on a day-day basis because they're in another country/region/world/whatever. Now, I could argue that that information is quite, uninteresting, and in many ways, it is. It is however quite nice to know that if I want to reach those people, I can.
lallysingh 16y ago
You're stereotyping facebook users pretty bad. It's a great way to share photos. It's also an ad-hoc mailing list between you and your friends. Post what you want; it's literally up to you. I post photos and links to interesting stuff -- mostly nerdy but my friends aren't terribly surprised by that. That's it. Seriously, it's not calling you at home and asking what you're doing every hour. You make it what you want. People like to talk about their lives. You may not care, but it's no different than normal smalltalk.
- puredemo 16y ago
  Spot on. That's also why a lot of people who get annoyed by smalltalk gripe about Facebook.
revorad 16y ago
Facebook makes everyone a celebrity in their social circle. It makes you and your friends "newsworthy". It lets you check out people you secretly like and gives you another chance to laugh at people you made fun of in school. It's not about keeping in touch. It's about hanging out and gossipping.

by ivenkys 16y ago

Legion 16y ago

Facebook is highly efficient for communicating with a large number of "fringe" acquaintances. Things you suggest - picking up the phone, dropping an email - require 1-on-1 contact. I am limited in the amount of time I can devote to 1-on-1 contact. But I can post on Facebook and people that know me but aren't necessarily people I want to devote a lot of 1-on-1 time to - more distant relatives, old friends, etc. - can see what I want to share. And I can skim my feed and see what they want to share. The level of time and contact is proportional to the relationship. They're not my inner circle, they're outer circle. Facebook is the single best improvement to my "outer circle" relationships ever invented. For low effort, I get to have some contact instead of no contact. For some people, Facebook is all about the time wasting activities, but that's not the core of the experience unless you make it so.

ivenkys 16y ago
I can see your point but my take is - that's what New Year, Christmas, ${Special_Occasion} are for, keeping in touch with fringe acquaintances. Send an email on those days.

Asa-Nisse 16y ago

I too was a FB-absente for a long time, but a friend of mine (non techie) explained its usefulness to me in a very good way. "It lets you keep updated on what your aquintances does on a daily basis". Not your good friends (because you call them). Not your collegagues (because you chat/mail them). But all those highschool and childhood friends you dont see on a day-day basis because they're in another country/region/world/whatever. Now, I could argue that that information is quite, uninteresting, and in many ways, it is. It is however quite nice to know that if I want to reach those people, I can.

lallysingh 16y ago

You're stereotyping facebook users pretty bad. It's a great way to share photos. It's also an ad-hoc mailing list between you and your friends. Post what you want; it's literally up to you. I post photos and links to interesting stuff -- mostly nerdy but my friends aren't terribly surprised by that. That's it. Seriously, it's not calling you at home and asking what you're doing every hour. You make it what you want. People like to talk about their lives. You may not care, but it's no different than normal smalltalk.

puredemo 16y ago
Spot on. That's also why a lot of people who get annoyed by smalltalk gripe about Facebook.

revorad 16y ago

Facebook makes everyone a celebrity in their social circle. It makes you and your friends "newsworthy". It lets you check out people you secretly like and gives you another chance to laugh at people you made fun of in school. It's not about keeping in touch. It's about hanging out and gossipping.