When i saw the thread title i imagined it would be exactly like those “How smart are your kids?” threads, except the opposite.
Everyone here is downplaying their social networking use the same way they wank over their children in the kid threads.
I’m on Facebook, Twitter, foursquare and Gowalla. I use them because I enjoy what they offer.
Is social networking the new “television” on SDMB in that it’s the coolest thing not to have?
I’m on Facebook several times a day. It’s my main method of keeping up with folks trips and activities, I use it for chat, and it’s where I publish my photos and video compilations. I have other outlets for those, but Facebook is my main choice.
I’m connected with family, close friends, hiking buddies, people from my pottery studio, and some work friends.
I use LinkedIn for professional networking, connecting to former co-workers, and job hunting.
Well, I’m not downplaying my description. I probably overplayed it. I see a lot of people posting mindless updates to my news feed all day long, updates to stupid games, stupid polls and questions, and other miscellaneous drudge. Those are people “use” Facebook. For me, it really is just a convenient, self-maintaining nexus for maintaining links with old friends and acquaintences.
I forget to mention LinkedIn in my post above. I don’t really use it at all, other than to hit “accept” if I see a friend request from someone I know.
I am on Facebook. I only really use it as an event planner, and even then only in the sense that when someone plans something, they invite me on Facebook, and it automatically pings my e-mail. Then they can post the pics from the event afterwards. It’s all very cute.
I do, however, understand what the draw would be to someone who is more generally a social person. That’s not really my type of thing, but there is enough value to be worth the effort it keeps to maintain my profile a couple of times a year.
Ok, but you weren’t asking the question.
Also, saying that you use Facebook “reluctantly” is SUCH a wank. Are your real friends contactable other ways or not? And are the “friends” who update you every two seconds with their rubbish a)worth staying in contact with and b)if they are, is there another way?
No, it’s not that. I actually find LinkedIn to be a very handy tool - it’s like having a self-updating Rolodex. Facebook, as a tool works for me the same way, a self-updating address book.
What I find irksome about Facebook, is that so many of their applications are remarkably stupid and encourage a commodity approach to friendship. You have more “social value” if you can add more and more names to your friends list. The people I want to be friends with are the people who in some way enrich my life. I don’t take part in any of the games applications etc. (I block every “game” for which I get an invitation) that are based on expanding your network for the sake of expanding your network.
That’s crap. I think “reluctantly” is actually quite valid. One of my teammates can’t stand Facebook, but the league has practically abandoned the league website in favor of its Facebook page. The only way to be sure you have current information about schedule changes and the point spread is by getting a Facebook account.
When he got a Facebook account, people started using that to do mundane things like invite him to play squash on the weekend and he started missing out on invitations because he doesn’t check FB and has all contact stuff go to the email account he uses for spam-producing stuff. People quit using regular channels to reach him.
My fiancee has the same issue with it. People send me messages on FB to invite her to brunch because “calling is such an inconvenience now”. My fiancee does not have an FB account. She missed a close friend’s bridal shower because the maid of honor only FBed the invitation to the bride’s Friend List.
If i told you how many friends I had, or what game I played, would if change the way that you viewed Facebook? (Even though I have few, and i play no games)
Or would you say that Facebook offered you something that you wanted out of it?
I wasn’t judging anyone except those that were judging social media users.
Some people don’t understand Facebook. That’s fine.
Some people don’t understand Twitter. That’s fine.
Some people don’t understand foursquare. That’s fine.
Some people don’e understand x. That’s fine.
Some people find that it’s trendy to try and explain how much they don’t like x… that’s lame.
If you look back, the post i referred to pretty much asked “What do you use?” and “Why?”
In your case, “What do you use?” could be answered by “Facebook”, and then “Why?” could be answered by “League thing, which we didn’t wanna do on Facebook, we wanted to do it at a different address”
No need to put “reluctantly” in the “What?” as apposed to the “Why?” as the post i replied to did.
And I was simply saying that I don’t think it’s the “coolest thing not to have” but rather that a lot of people have legitimate reasons for not liking it or finding it bothersome, or a necessary evil.
I think a lot of the enjoyment you get out of Facebook REALLY depends on who your friends are (and I mean Facebook friends).
In my friends list, there are three types of FB users:
Fairly computer-savvy people in their late 20’s - early 30’s who use Facebook to post interesting Status Updates, pictures, and links to articles. Most of the time they have good (clever) comments on their friends’ posts and can participate in comment threads appropriately.
People who log in once or twice a week and post long, mis-spelled status updates, play a ton of games (and post results to their profiles), exchange a ton of weird “gifts”, and join every group as well as invite every single one of their friends to join. They also tend to comment on every one of their friends’ latest updates, and accidentally post full embed code for videos.
People who get an account and friend you, but never say or do anything else. Or they act like a #2 for a week then never come back.
Most of my friends are of the 1 and 3 ilk. I’ve managed to curb what I see from type 2 people, or just de-friend them. THOSE types of folks are the ones that make FB a pain enjoy. If your pool of friends is like #2 then your newsfeed sucks.
By the way, everyone needs FB Purity to clean up their newsfeeds. EVERYONE!!
Some of the “new old friends” I’ve found on FB are the people who ended up being #1 types, and it’s really been fun interacting with them, casually.
I honestly believe that Facebook is as bad or as good as your pool of friends. If they just don’t get it…if they don’t even get basic netiquitte…they will ruin it for you.
Do you use any of these tools? Yes.
Which ones? Facebook.
What do you do with them? I read about what friends and family are up to. I have a year and a half year old niece in another state who I love hearing about. Somethings aren’t really worthy of an e-mail, but are perfect for her parents to do fb updates. Recent updates about her include how she is playing with a Neno stuffed animal, you know, that little orange clown fish from the movie, and is calling him that; she behaved wonderfully at the beauty shop when she got her hair cut; she’s decided the tail from her monkey stuffed animal belongs in her nose (that one actually had a really cute picture with it!). These are all little things that I love reading about, but aren’t the sort of things that one would ever write an e-mail to convey.
As far as my friends, a good example of fb’s usefulness would be a friend who got married last weekend. I was unable to go to the wedding, but I’ve already seen photos that she’s posted and photos that other people who attended posted and tagged her in.
How important are they to your work? Not at all.
Your private life? My private life stays private.
What am I missing here? I’m not sure. Maybe you’re missing the fact that there isn’t too much to miss. It’s pretty simple, just a way to keep in touch with people.
I have a Facebook account but don’t really have any friends on it.
Myspace is where I spend a lot of my time. It’s not too important to my life, no, but I’m glad I have it. I use it to both keep in contact with friends from high school and also to find girls. You probably aren’t missing anything at all.
I use FaceBook, and usually check it a few times a day if I have an internet connection and time to kill. I check in with what people are doing, and play some of the games, maybe mention what I’m up to on the relatively rare occasions it’s something interesting or if I have something specific on my mind. It’s not important to my professional or personal life, but it’s an easy way to keep up with people whose lives I care about but who I wouldn’t ever get around to calling or writing or trying to keep a current email address for–folks from school, non-immediate family, that sort of thing.
And I think saying you use something reluctantly is perfectly valid, especially when someone is asking what you get out of using it. I personally didn’t see the point of FB when I already had a perfectly good LiveJournal. Where, I might add, people actually talked about what was going on with them instead of snapping off soundbites about it. And I still wouldn’t have a FB account except for one pesky little problem–all my non-local friends, the ones I kept up with on LJ, joined FB and started using it almost exclusively. Posting on LJ was increasingly an exercise in talking to myself, which defeats the whole point of the thing.
Pretty much my thoughts on the subject, too. Having said that, I realise Facebook et al are incredibly useful for a lot of people and they’re not inherently “bad”, but for me their disadvantages outweigh their advantages.
I’m a type 3. The reason I always had so many problems with making friends in the past is that I go through periods where I’m a 1, but, when I’m having difficulties, I become a 3. IT seems to me that Facebook makes it a lot easier to remain friends with these people when I’m a 3.
I also have a social phobia, and talking online is just easier. Regular conversations with more than one person are impossible, as I just don’t have the assertiveness necessary to jump in, and usually wind up just watching. I’m the quiet friend who doesn’t say much unless directly asked.
Finally, I’m actually homebound. So Facebook gives me what semblance of a social life I need. As does this place. It’s not my ultimate goal, but it gives me a way to use my social impulses until I can get back out again. (and, yes, I’m working on that.)
I think that pretty much addresses the OP, as well. If you don’t feel you are missing anything, you probably aren’t.